MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel agency has signed an agreement with Travelport’s distributor for India, InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ), for the use of its travel commerce platform. 

Together with its well-recognised brands, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo and redBus, MakeMyTrip receives over 33 million visits via its desktop and mobile-web platforms and serves over 40 million Mobile App active users each month.

Under the agreement, MakeMyTrip can expand the use of Travelport’s technology from the Ibibo Group to MakeMyTrip’s other primary distribution channels starting in the second half of calendar year 2017. MakeMyTrip undertook a strategic combination with Ibibo Group in January 2017 and acquired its 100 per cent equity interest.

Travelport, working in conjunction with ITQ which operates as its distributor in India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, will make available to MakeMyTrip its industry leading travel content featuring real time access to approximately 400 airlines, including the merchandised content of over half of these carriers such as fares families and ancillary products (paid seat assignments, baggage fees, priority boarding, etc). Travelport has pioneered the inclusion of low cost carriers on its platform for shopping and booking and uniquely went live with IndiGo in November 2016, which is now India’s largest passenger airline.

Gordon Wilson, Travelport’s president and CEO, said: “India is a market with enormous growth potential where Travelport, working with our distributor ITQ, has grown in air booking terms by 14 per cent in the first half of 2017 when the GDS air market has grown by 11 per cent. Securing a partnership with the leading online travel agency in the market, with a high growth profile and tremendous track record, gives even further impetus to our plans in the country. The fact that MakeMyTrip has elected to work with us is a testament to our investment in leading edge search, shopping and booking technology alongside the significantly differentiated travel content now available on our platform for both the domestic and outbound Indian traveller.”

Deep Kalra, co-founder, chairman and CEO of MakeMyTrip, added: “This is an exciting time for MakeMyTrip and we are delighted to partner with Travelport and ITQ as part of our growth strategy in the service of the travelling Indian consumer.”

Anil Parashar, president and CEO of ITQ, said: “MakeMyTrip is a tremendous partner for us and we are delighted to be building on the good work we started with Ibibo Group which is now part of the MakeMyTrip Group. ITQ’s investment in local support and infrastructure for the Travelport platform in the markets in which we operate has enabled us to provide the sort of service and local touch, linked to the global capabilities of Travelport, to enable us to win a customer of this calibre with whom we look forward to working for many years to come.” - TradeArabia News Service