Tag Archives: Yatra Online

Ebix will be acquiring Yatra Online via merger, as part of a definitive agreement signed between the two travel giants. Following the completion of the transaction, Yatra will become part of Ebix’s EbixCash travel portfolio alongside Via and Mercury and will continue to serve customers under the Yatra brand. The transaction will create India’s largest and most profitable travel services company, and a leading online travel platform poised to capture significant international growth opportunities. Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina, commented, “The acquisition of Yatra would lend itself to significant synergies and the emergence of EbixCash as India’s largest and most profitable travel services company, besides being the largest enterprise financial exchange in the country. Over the last few months, we have evolved a detailed synergistic plan, that once fully executed can provide between 40 to 75 cents of accretion to the Ebix non-GAAP EPS. We are excited by the cross-selling opportunities that this combination provides us, while further strengthening our future EbixCash IPO offering.” Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder and CEO of Yatra Online. “We are pleased to announce this agreement with Ebix, which provides our shareholders with the opportunity to participate in the significant upside potential of one of the fastest growing multinational On-Demand software and E-commerce services companies in the world. Over the last several years, we have built Yatra into one of India’s most well- recognized e-commerce brands, growing into the leading corporate travel services provider and one of the largest consumer travel companies. Becoming a part of Ebix’s EbixCash travel portfolio will enable us to continue on that path. As part of a larger diversified organization with the necessary scale and resources to be a leader …

Yatra Online has announced the acquisition of the corporate travel business of PL Worldways Limited (PLW), a Chennai-based corporate travel services provider. This acquisition will help strengthen Yatra’s foothold in the southern India region along with adding over 100 corporate clients to its existing client base of over 700. Commenting on the acquisition, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO, Yatra Online, said, “PL Worldways has an unparalleled reputation in corporate travel in the southern part of the country due to its strong customer focus and unmatched service. With this acquisition, we not only strengthen our position in the growing corporate travel market in India but also in Southern India, which has been in our cross-hairs for some time. Our endeavour will be to deliver best-in-class service to PLW’s existing customer base, through our self-booking platform and expense management solution software. We look forward to welcoming PL Worldways team to the Yatra family.” Anil Pathak, Chairman, PL Worldways, said, “We are excited for PL Worldways to join Yatra family. PL Worldways’ local connect and customer service expertise will complement Yatra’s technology platform and leverage the largest hotel network in the country; helping clients optimise their travel spend and improve their travel processes.”

Yatra Online has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of India.  This MoU will enable overseas and domestic tourists to conveniently book their tickets online for 141 historical monuments, museums and sites in India, such as the Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Ajanta and Ellora caves, Red Fort, Sun Temple, all of which fall under the purview of ASI. This move, aimed towards supporting Government of India’s ‘Digital India’ initiative, will facilitate digitisation of ASI’s service offerings, thereby providing fast track access and a world-class e-ticket booking experience to visitors. The partnership with Yatra, the only OTA to provide this facility, will also be significant in promoting tourism and cultural heritage in India. The online booking services comes at no additional cost to a customer. Speaking on the partnership, Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder & CEO, Yatra.com said, “India has an extraordinary and diverse pool of cultural heritage and footfalls to such destinations are astounding. Therefore, we want to provide a high quality visitor experience, which will empower the visitors (both Indian & International) to book their tickets to these monuments online. In addition to providing online booking services, Yatra will be extending its platform for promoting cultural heritage and featuring all the essential information that a tourist needs, to plan their visits along with a synopsis of the monuments.”

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) inaugurated the third edition of Digital Travel, Hospitality & Innovation Summit on March 21, 2018 at Federation House, New Delhi. The two-day summit is part of FICCI’s mandate to further enhance India’s digital drive in the travel and tourism industry. The summit saw in attendance the high flyers of travel and hospitality industry alongside the giants of travel technology from both India and abroad. The summit kick-started with an inaugural session where Ashish Kumar, Co-Chairman, FICCI Travel Technology Committee & Partner Agnitio Consulting, welcomed the delegates and attendees, followed by a special address by Dhruv Shringi, Chairman, FICCI Travel Technology Committee & CEO and Co-Founder, Yatra Online, where he stressed on the new innovations changing the face of the travel industry around the world. This was followed by keynote addresses by Jason Nash, Chief Storyteller, Travelport; Rajesh Magow, Co-Founder & CEO, MakeMyTrip and Pulkit Trivedi, Director Global Sales Organisation, Facebook India.

Yatra Online has been shortlisted for the adoption of four monuments including Qutub Minar (Delhi), Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra), Hampi (Karnataka) and Leh Palace (Jammu & Kashmir), under ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ of Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India. The ‘Letter of Intent’ has been given to select companies, including Yatra, for adopting certain monuments under the scheme at the closing ceremony of ‘Paryatan Parv’ held in New Delhi recently. As a part of the ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’, Yatra along with the other shortlisted companies will be called ‘Monument Mitras’ or ‘Monument friends’ as they will work towards managing the monuments/heritage sites across India in a planned and phased manner. The objective of this initiative is to increase the attractiveness of the sites, enhance the visiting experience, improve accessibility and engage with the community in addition to providing and managing basic and advanced amenities at these sites. Commenting on the same, Dhruv Shringi, CEO Yatra.com, “At Yatra, we want to create and conserve an India that is enjoyed by all visitors whether Indians, foreigners, residents or tourists, for today and future generations. By being a part of this endeavour to promote heritage and conserve India’s historical legacy, we are committed to give back to the society by putting our community at the very core of our business. Yatra was selected by Inter-Ministerial Oversight and Vision Committee of Ministry after detailed scrutiny of 57 responses ranging from travel industry, hospitality industry and banking industry for adopting monuments.”

Yatra Online has signed a partnership with OYO which will bring the latter’s inventory on to an online travel agent platform for the first time. With this association, Yatra’s total hotel inventory will further expand to over 70,000 hotels in India, especially in the budget hotel category. Travellers can book OYO hotels on Yatra’s platform, make changes to their reservations and reach out to Yatra’s customer service if required. Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder & CEO, Yatra.com, said, “Yatra continues to expand its reach in tier II and III markets in India. Our partnership with OYO is a firm step in that direction and enables us to deliver a unique proposition to our customers allowing them to choose from an unmatched variety of travel and accommodation options in India.” Ritesh Agarwal – Founder & CEO, OYO said, “Through this partnership, OYO’s quality-assured hassle-free offerings will be accessible to millions of discerning travellers who book on Yatra.com. We welcome them to avail our economy and mid-market offerings that deliver the right balance of price, location and quality. Our mission is to bring high-quality living spaces to all Indians and this alliance will help us penetrate deeper into emerging travel markets.”