National, March 30, 2023: MakeMyTrip, India’s leading online travel company, announced its plan to expand its franchise business in the top 100+ cities of the country. The company started 2023 with 146 active franchisees and aims to grow by more than 50% to reach 220 by the end of the calendar year.
“India has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. The government plans to add another 80 airports over the next three years, taking the number of airports in the country to 220 by 2025. The focus on modernising the nation’s aviation market in Tier 2 and beyond cities will also mean an increased contribution from such cities to the overall business mix. We see this as an opportunity area and have initiated a multi-pronged strategy to penetrate deeper nationwide,” said Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip. “The franchise network expansion is part of our broader strategy to serve customers in the top 100+ cities of India. The franchise network will help serve those customers who may be more comfortable talking to someone they trust.”
“The trust and affection we enjoy from our customers is evident in the 70% growth in the number of holiday packages sold over the pre-pandemic period. During this period, we have seen increased traction for both franchisees-led as well as online holiday package sales on our platform. Therefore, an action plan has been set in motion to boost demand from both channels further,” said Jasmeet Singh, Business Head, Holidays & Experiences, MakeMyTrip. “We are targeting like-minded entrepreneurs who share a passion for travel. Industry expertise is an advantage but not a must. Interestingly, more than 85% of the business partners who have joined us over the past twelve months are from a non-travel background.”
MakeMyTrip aims to build a hyper-local marketing connection by leveraging its franchisee partners to build travel communities in smaller cities. The initial reaction to the initiative has been positive. In addition, MakeMyTrip has invested in technology as well as training to ensure the service remains consistent across all franchisees. The company has built a proprietary tool, ‘MMTOne,’ which helps the seller to create an itinerary basis for any query within seven minutes. Further, the company has developed an e-learning management system, ‘ILearn,’ with a customized content repository to provide unlimited access to the sales team of franchisees for on-platform certifications. The tools help the company track the progress and the performance of franchisee teams.
MakeMyTrip Holidays is working on an omnichannel strategy to increase its penetration in the holiday packages market. At one level, MakeMyTrip is expanding the number of Franchises in the country. At the same time, the platform recently announced the launch of ‘Dynamic Itineraries’ that allow travelers to customize and buy Holiday Packages in real-time online. MakeMyTrip has also increased the strength of the women-only team of Holiday Experts, who manage all leads requiring assistance, to over one thousand.
