ixigo, redefining travel and the convenience within

With increasing internet and smartphone penetration in the country, start-ups foresee the next big technology disruption coming in the travel space and hence some new players have taken a dive into the sector. Riding on a high tide, ixigo, a startup in online travel marketplace and a travel meta-search and trip planning application is eyeing big to grab the lion share of the industry.

Speaking about the with Retailer Media, Aloke Bajpai, CEO & Co- Founder, ixigo explains on how the industry has evolved and like any other online business is shifting its focus to mobile. He also shared his vision for making ixigo a giant in the coming years.

 

 

Talk to us about ixigo and the business model?

ixigo is India's leading travel meta-search and trip planning application. We allow travelers to search across multiple travel booking sites or apps in just one click on ixigo. We do this for flights, hotels, buses, trains, cabs, packages and more, thereby helping travelers find the best travel deals on the web within seconds. We are also the largest trip planning site in India with information, photos, reviews, locations, prices and timings for over 200K places to visit, things to do, attractions, activities, restaurants and tourist destinations. We also help track and manage PNRs at one place!

Our business model is based on lead-generation for OTAs, airlines, hotels, bus-booking sites, cab-booking apps etc. and on targeted contextual advertising from brands who wish to target a premium travel audience. 

 

 

How is ixigo's PNR prediction service different from regular PNR checking sites? Put some light on this new initiative?

ixigo's PNR prediction feature is different from other such services because we not only give real-time PNR Status but also give pretty accurate PNR prediction for wait-listed & RAC tickets. This is possible because ixigo has mined data from over 10 million PNRs over the last two years of real PNRs tracked through our apps. Through this feature, ixigo is now able to show the near accurate probability with which the waitlisted ticket might get confirmed or not, so that travellers may decide whether or not to book a waitlisted ticket. PNR prediction feature also shows the probability of getting your ticket confirmed if already booked and solves a huge pain area for millions of daily train travellers. 

 

What were the initial challenges faced while rooting this business into the market?

We went through considerable challenges in our early years as noone understood the meta-search business model in India, and it was very hard to raise initial financing/funding. Also, the OTA businesses were well funded and tried hard to repel us in the early years. We also faced a double-whammy during the recession since we were less than 2 years old at that time and relatively small in terms of capital available. However, we turned this hardship into a challenge and came out stronger on the other side, having found innovative ways to grow without spending much marketing money, and with continuous innovation in product and technology that solved for pain areas of travelers. 

 

 

How do you manage the technology wing at ixigo? Do you have a third party technology solution provider? If yes, how has it helped?

No, we do not have any third party technology solution as we believe in building awesome products and technology with tender love and care which can only happen in-house. To do that, we hire the best technology people and make sure we give them an environment in which they can learn fast and innovate. 

We've built what is perhaps the most complex technology for the travel vertical - a Google for travel since we combine real-time data sourced from multiple leading travel websites with a great UX thereby allowing travellers to plan their trips and choose travel vendors that fit their needs and budget. 

 

 

Talk to us about the future expansion plans? Are you planning to hit tier II and III market in the near future?

In the last 12 months, we have served nearly 60 million travellers in India. We have been growing by 2-3x year on year for the last few years and most of this growth has been through word of mouth, thanks to our amazing apps. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities already contribute almost half of our travel searches, and are big for products such as trains, buses and budget hotels. We plan to expand our supply base in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets in a big way by adding small and mid-sized travel service providers from smaller towns. 

 

 

Put some light of the market share of this industry?

We work with online travel agents as well as with suppliers (airlines, hotel chains etc.) directly as the leading meta-search in the country. So, we straddle two different pies and have market share in both. In total, 2% of all online travel transactions in India originate from ixigo, and that gives us 70% market share of the meta-search market in India.  

 

 

What are your plans for mobile apps? Like other e-Commerce players will you focus more on mobile apps?

We are very bullish on mobile apps. Over 80% of our searches and 65% of our transactions now come from mobile devices. We are the only travel player who has unbundled into multiple mobile apps on Android. This gives us an edge since we can have razor sharp focus on each kind of traveler's needs. We will definitely increase our focus on mobile apps and certain new products such as our cabs app (where we aggregate Uber, Easycabs, Ola etc.) have an app-only future. 

 

 

Talk to us about the recent investment from Micromax?

Micromax is India's leading smartphone manufacturer and has a very strong foothold in the fast growing urban middle-class and Tier 2 markets. We share a joint vision of the future where the device acts as the origin of all travel searches, and hence we will be working closely together on enhancing the user experience of travelers who wish to search and book travel and transportation in a more native fashion from the device itself, without needing a multitude of travel apps. 

 

 

Where do you see the future of this industry 3-5 years down the line?

Mobile apps are the future growth drivers and we are already leaders in the travel space. With great travel content and most user-friendly apps, ixigo is set to become the one-stop solution for all travel queries. We expect to grow 5x in the next 12 months, to reach 30 Million+ active users every month. 

In terms of the future of the travel industry, with the Online Travel Agency (OTA) model seemingly having reached its peak already, there is bound to be disruption by start-ups in various niches of online and mobile travel. Travel meta-search and Trip Planning are two areas that are growing very well with the latter having several new entrants. Branded budget hotel aggregation has already seen some large players being built in a relatively short space of time. On packages, we have seen a few companies starting to scale their marketplace of travel agents and tour operators. Activities & Experience marketplaces have also started picking up in terms of traction. Indian travelers are increasingly demanding customized trip planning, personalization, offbeat travel content and experiences instead of just trips. This is helping some of these startups create niches of new demand. One of the other reasons is the proliferation of smartphones on both ends (the traveler end as well as the travel business / travel service provider end). This is unfolding several exciting use-cases that were unimaginable before.

 

Are you planning to expand to some other categories as well? Why, why not?

 

We have recently expanded into cabs, and we will spend a few months to grow and dominate that category as a meta-search. The marketplace we are building of hotels, tour operators and travel agents will also help us expand in a bigger way into tours, packages and activities.