MakeMyTrip is already a super app: Rajesh Magow

The industry started performing better from March, and as our results show, we have also done well in the quarter given the circumstances of the Omicron wave in January and February. In this quarter, the trend is quite positive from a consumer sentiment standpoint, especially for leisure travel. However, the pressure right now is a bit more on the macro development, that is on the inflation side, which has led to higher fares.

Our view is that we will take another couple of quarters. So international travel will make a full come-back by the end of this fiscal year. 

For domestic flights, we would be in the 90’s in volume terms. Hotels are pretty much on the same bus at 95 per cent and international travel is about 50 per cent.

The revenue mix is not very different from what it was pre-pandemic. Fifty per cent of the overall revenue comes from the hotels and packages business, 30-35 per cent from the air business, 10 per cent from the bus business and about 5-6 per cent from ancillary services. We have taken multiple initiatives to boost our numbers. So we expect that in another a year or so, all these new initiatives would contribute 10 to 15 per cent of total volumes or revenues.

In the last two years we have invested in many new channels, whichwould bring in more business and help us on profitability. One of the platforms we have built is ‘my partner’, which is essentially a travel agent platform. We have about 25,000 travel agents on the platform and flights and hotels are being booked on it.

Similarly, we have enhanced our corporate platforms, both for Quest2Travel for large enterprises, and MyBiz for small and medium enterprises. We have added multiple products, which has made us a one-stop shop for every corporate to book any travel use case. We have also strategically changed RedBus from a bus booking platform to a ground transport booking platform, including booking trains. 

Marketing and sales expenses have moved along with the revenue movement. So, we haven’t done anything exceptional or aggressive to go after market share, because we have gained market share organically. While our market share in domestic flights was 27 per cent pre-pandemic, we are now at 30 per cent of the overall offline and online market. In the premium hotel segment we are doing about 140 per cent of the pre-pre pandemic number. So nothing exceptional that we’ve done on marketing, actually.

We hope the momentum sustains. I don’t want to make any forward statements, but directionally, I would link it back to our view on the industry recovery. So domestic travel should be back by the end of the September quarter and international travel should make a full comeback by the end of this fiscal year. Our recovery rate is a little higher than the industry. Our new initiatives will contribute to the overall volumes and revenues.

We are already a super app. Our vision is that MakeMyTrip emerges as the first port of call for the Indian traveller, travelling domestically or internationally, and booking hotels or alternative accommodation, which would include homestay services, apartments, villas, hostels, and any other ancillary product.