Online travel company MakeMyTrip has announced its plan to expand its franchise business from 146 active franchisees in 2023 to grow by more than 50 per cent to reach 220 by the end of the calendar year. MakeMyTrip plans to expand its franchise business in the top 100+ cities of the country.
The government’s announcement last year that the country is likely to add nearly 80 airports in the next four to five years is expected to contribute to the growth of the aviation market and thereby will lead to an increased contribution from tier-II 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,” he added.
Earlier last year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had said the number of airports in the country has increased from 74 to 141 in the last eight years, and this will grow up to 220 in the next four to five years.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has also given ‘in-principle’ approval for setting up of 21 greenfield airports across the country, including Mopa in Goa; Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra; Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Hassan and Shivamogga in Karnataka; Dabra in Madhya Pradesh; Kushinagar and Noida (Jewar) in Uttar Pradesh; Dholera and Hirasar (Rajkot) in Gujarat; Karaikal in Puducherry; Dagadarthi (Nellore), Bhogapuram and Orvakal (Kurnool) in Andhra Pradesh; Durgapur in West Bengal; Pakyong in Sikkim; Kannur in Kerala; and Hollongi (Itanagar) in Arunachal Pradesh.
MakeMyTrip had witnessed 70 per cent growth in the number of holiday packages sold over the pre-pandemic period wherein the company had seen an increased traction for both franchisees-led as well as online holiday package sales, MakeMyTrip said in a statement. “An action plan has been set in motion to boost demand from both channels further. We are targeting like-minded entrepreneurs who share a passion for travel. Interestingly, more than 85 per cent of the business partners who have joined us over the past twelve months are from a non-travel background,” said Jasmeet Singh, Business Head, Holidays & Experiences, MakeMyTrip.
In order to maintain the same experience across its channels, MakeMyTrip has also invested in technology as well as training across all its franchisees.
