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Indian online travel sites spearhead growth
MakeMyTrip, Cleartrip and Yatra ensure travel continues to be the dominant e-commerce segment in India, leading the way for broadband penetration
After the successful listing of online travel portal MakeMyTrip on the NASDAQ exchange last August, interest in other Indian travel websites is mounting.
Yatra Online could be the next to announce an initial public offering in the coming 12 to 18 months.
Yatra's online travel business which was founded in 2006, consists of online booking facilities for domestic and international air travel, hotel and railway reservations, bus and car rentals, and holiday packages.
"The key for online travel companies, particularly those planing to go public, is to scale up fast to boost valuation," an investment banker tells business newspaper Mint.
To that end, Yatra has sold just under 26 percent of its stake to raise Rs 200 crore (US$45 million) from private equity investors.
Earlier this week Cleartrip, another top Indian e-commerce travel website, received an investment of US$40 million from a NASDAQ-listed travel management solutions provider for a minority interest in the Indian travel company.
Investors motives are, in part, to increase "broadband penetration in India through fostering entrepreneurship in compelling content and ecommerce opportunities,” says Sudheer Kuppam, Managing Director, Intel Capital Asia Pacific, one of Yatra's three blue chip investors.
According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the 2010 online travel market in the country is valued at Rs 25,258 crore (gross merchandise value) and growing at 50 percent.
