In its ongoing endeavor to increase customer touch points, Yatra.com , the leading online travel service company, has unveiled its mobile travel offerings. This will be the most comprehensive offering emerging from an online travel player to provide air ticket bookings in a convenient manner over mobile handsets. The company intends to introduce hotel bookings, car rentals & bus bookings on the mobile phone shortly.
Branded as " Yatra.com on the Go!", it has three products targeted at distinct customer segments. Recognising the need to have a product for customers with WAP enabled handsets as well as for those who don't possess one, there is something for everyone.
The first of the offerings is an SMS product, targeted at a customer segment, which does not carry a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) enabled handset. For the first time in India, through a simple "Fly-Select-Book" process, a mobile subscriber can not only search for flights and fares via SMS, but can also book air-tickets by sending a query to 2622. For this fast and secure service, the mobile subscriber has to undergo a one-time registration process.
Targeting the customers with GPRS enabled handsets; the second offering lets the customer search and book air tickets using wap.yatra.com , Yatra.com 's WAP portal. Through the portal, customers can easily view the flight options in a mobile friendly format and hence - providing for a superb customer experience.
The third of the mobile offerings is a downloadable client application. Targeted at the frequent traveler- the product gets downloaded and installed on a GPRS enabled phone by sending SMS YATRA to 2622 . Offering a customer experience superior to anything currently available, the product enhances usability with a slew of innovative features. Currently, the application supports almost all WAP enabled Nokia, Sony Ericsson & Samsung models. Very soon it would also be available for Motorola users.
Speaking on the launch of these innovative services, Dhruv Shringi, Co-founder, Yatra.com , said, "Mobile is a natural progression for Yatra.com , to help us offer our services to the growing 200 million mobile users across the country. This would bring us closer to our customers, making travel even more convenient, with user-friendly applications on mobile handsets. Yatra's ability to help travelers plan & execute their travel on the move will make it the preferred travel services company."
While the travel market in India is flourishing, the needs of the Indian travelers are still under-served. It is difficult for Indian travelers to find, compare and select best packages and deals, and make reservations at the lowest cost and finest service. With the mobile users base expected to grow to 500 million by the end of 2010, Yatra.com offering services on mobile will try and bridge in the gap.
Yatra.com has recently been nominated for World Travel Awards 2007, the most prestigious awards program in the global travel industry and has endorsed Yatra's position as a leading player in the online travel space.
Yatra.com was launched in August 2006 and within a short span of time it has seen a 40 fold increase in revenue with an employee base touching 450. Currently, Yatra.com is posting average revenue of $9.5 million a month with a volume of 4,500 tickets and 250 rooms a day. The company projects a turnover of $120 million by the end of 2007 and expects to break even in 2008.
