New Delhi : Internet travel and technology company, e-travelindia.com is planning to invest nearly $8 million over the next two years to expand its operations. The company, which was started in January 2000, has already invested $4 million in its operations till date. Now it plans to invest an additional $2 million in technology, $2.5 million for setting up a VSAT backbone with HFCL, and $2-3 million in operating costs, said Mr Sanjeev Agarwal, CEO, e-travelindia.com.The company, which had received a first round of investment worth $2 million from Infinity ventures, is hopeful that it will be able to fund the expansions from revenue generated from the company's operations. Plans on the anvil also include increasing its current strength from 60 to 100 employees in the next few months and opening up offices in Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Calcutta, in addition to existing offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
According to Mr Agarwal, e-travelindia.com, has developed a technology based Web interface for corporate travellers, which can help companies reduce their travel costs by 5 to 30 per cent. The company claims to provide "best itinerary, best price" leveraging the price differential between the rates offered by different airlines. "We also help companies save valuable time, which otherwise would have been wasted by executives, in case of flight delays and changes of schedules, thereby enabling them to increase productivity," said Mr Agarwal.
"This is supplemented by value added services, such as 24 hours availability, multi-location presence, 3-hour deliveries, fast layering technology based system that minimizes usage time, SMS messages regarding flight schedule changes and delays, etc.," he added.
According to him, e-travelindia has created a technology that links airlines, hotels and car systems, at one end and integrates it with the back-end fulfillment systems and the financial systems of its corporate clients.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
