With its sights focused on becoming the “MakeMyTrip of the Middle East” by 2018, Musafir.com is charting ambitious plans to grow its presence in the region as well as India where it recently launched its portal.
Co-founder of the Sharjah-based OTA, Albert Dias (left), believes the Middle East online travel market is at a tipping point where consumers are now more willing to book their trips online and his company, launched in 2007, is in good position to ride the wave.
“Consumers are becoming more comfortable with the idea of booking online,” he said. “Adoption of smartphones and more online travel brands coming into the market, educating consumers, are opening the minds of people to the OTA model.”
Musafir works on an online and offline model. It currently operates 11 retail outlets in the UAE and intends to increase that to 15. In its sights are also Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Plus, with its recent launch in India, it is planning to open a further seven to eight stores in more Indian cities, following its first store in Mumbai.
“Most bookings are sold online but fulfilled offline because people are still reluctant to use credit cards and there’s still a lack of trust in online,” said Dias.
One area of growth for Musafir.com is the corporate and SME businesses. “Our visa services have been a good additional revenue stream.”
The company also has a dedicated mobile app, launched in January, that allows both corporates and consumers to access its full web portal and make reservations on the go.
For its launch in India, it rolled out a brand campaign featuring legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who is also the brand ambassador. Along with TABcabs, the company offered free cab rides for fans to the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai for Sachin’s 200thand final test match of his career last November.
Asked how he intended to compete with India’s OTAs such as MakeMyTrip and Cleartrip which are very active in the Middle East, Dias said, “We believe the market is big enough for everyone, there are new users coming online all the time and we will carve out a niche for us.”
One difference he’s seen is that customers in the Middle East are not as hungry for deals as in India. “I think the appetite for deals in India is four times the global average,” he said.
Note: Albert Dias will be speaking at WIT Middle East, March 26-27. See programme here.
