India is in the unique position of jumping “technology generations”

By EyeforTravel.com Correspondent

As a market for online travel, India may have its own set of challenges. But there is no dearth of optimism about future growth.

For example, Dhruv Shringi, founder and executive director, Yatra.com acknowledges that there are limitations like language barrier, m-commerce being at concept stage, direct debits not being popular etc. However, he is quite confident about the future prospects.

“India is in the unique position of jumping “technology generations” and avoid the pains that some of the western countries faced in migrating technologies. Having said that I feel call centers have a big role to play. Keeping this in mind we have a fully equipped call centre, which we plan to grow into a multi-lingual center to meet the diverse needs of the Indian customers. M-commerce is indeed picking up in the metros and it will only be a while before we see such growth across the country. We have a lot of learnings for us to tap into and I am sure experiences and time will tell us which way the market grows and my gut tells me its only north!” he says.

In an interview with EyeforTravel.com’s Ritesh Gupta, he shared more information about Yatra and the market. Excerpts:

How do you assess the situation from consumers’ perspective when it comes it planning and buying travel online? Where do you think Yatra is in an advantageous position?

The internet is all about empowering the end user by providing him with all the information that enables him to make an informed decision. We have taken up a challenge, to change the online travel industry in India. Yatra will help its customers get access to a wide choice of travel options and flexible payment methods at specially negotiated prices. Also we plan to reach far and wide across the country through the help of the Reliance’s (ADAG) network of webworlds and other ventures and provide these services in areas which have traditionally been underserved.

If on one hand there are promising figures like over 100m Internet user base by 2007, over 80 million mobile users, over 35 million credit and debit cards, over 9 million Internet banking accounts, on the other there are also limitations like language barrier, M-commerce being at concept stage, direct debits not being popular etc. How do you currently assess the purchasing pattern in India when it comes to Internet and mobile phones? How crucial are call centres?

You have indeed pointed out the challenges and the factors, which might just slow down the fast growth pace, but I feel this is just a temporary phase that will change eventually. India is in the unique position of jumping “technology generations” and avoid the pains that some of the western countries faced in migrating technologies. Having said that I feel call centers have a big role to play. Keeping this in mind we have a fully equipped call center, which we plan to grow into a multi-lingual center to meet the diverse needs of the Indian customers. M-commerce is indeed picking up in the metros and it will only be a while before we see such growth across the country. We have a lot of learnings for us to tap into and I am sure experiences and time will tell us which way the market grows and my gut tells me its only north!

How are you trying to build a connect with consumers? How are you leveraging TV18’s expertise in the media sector and Reliance Infocomm’s retail infrastructure?

We have an amazing team of founders and partners who have come together to grow Yatra.com, TV18 one of India’s leading media houses will help building the brand through their various media channels and Reliance’s webworlds, radio networks, media channels will help us to reach a wider footprint of Indians, after all Reliance is one of India’s largest recognized brand. Our partners (TV18, Reliance and NVP) are committed to help grow Yatra.com in the best way possible.

Yatra has worked upon Flexible Flight Search tool that enables customers to find the cheapest fare two days either side of their chosen date. Can you share info on this and other differentiating services of Yatra?

Our aim at Yatra is to empower the customer and provide him with all the information necessary for him to make his travel decisions. In keeping with that we provide a flexible search option that enables a customer to compare flight prices 2 days either side, we also provide a similar functionality for hotels whereby we give the customer the option of selecting upto 3 hotels and comparing the amenities available in each hotel. We also provide sliders that allow a customer to narrow down his search options based on time of travel and price.

Kindly share some info on user-generated content and rich media experience. What initiatives have you taken?

There are a quite a few initiatives on this front that we are working on. Unfortunately, it might be a bit premature for us to share our plans on these fronts just yet.

How is dynamic packaging progressing? What trends have you witnessed?

Dynamic packaging is a new trend in India. We are currently in the “education” phase where we are explaining the benefits of dynamic packaging to both our customers and suppliers. Currently in India we have a scenario where there is a scarcity of hotel rooms in India. Once we start seeing some excess capacity in the system will we really seem dynamic packaging take off

What’s on your agenda? What target has been set for Yatra in the first year of operations?

We will continue to strengthen our position in the flights segment and build on our relationships with the domestic hotel suppliers. We currently have supplier relationships with over 1,000 hotels across India and we plan to increase this number significantly in the coming months.