KOCHI: As the tourism sector in Kerala gains popularity across the globe, more online travel aggregators are providing attractive packages to travellers looking to visit the state. EaseMyTrip, one of the popular online travel sites in India, has announced sops for Kerala-bound tourists on their air tickets.
The company is offering a discount of Rs 500 on domestic flights and Rs 2,000 on international flights bound to Kerala. Passengers can avail the discount by applying the promo code ‘EMTKERALA’ while booking tickets through EaseMyTrip. Rolly Sinha Dhar, Vice-President, Corporate Sales, said that the company currently has 2.53 per cent users from Kerala and it is intending to increase its reach at least by 15 per cent by the end of this year. “We are the third most used travel app in India. Our packages are one of the most pocket-friendly in the entire country. We have a tie-up with 42,000 registered agents and more than 80 lakh direct customers,” she said. The New Delhi-based company was founded in May 2008.
EaseMyTrip is further looking to strengthen its market position on other services including hotels, bus, and train bookings. It has also expanded its footprint to the UK by starting a subsidiary company. The portal is promoting UDAN scheme of the Indian government by giving additional discounts. It has also introduced IRCTC train tickets booking facility on its platform and customers can book tickets without paying convenience fee.
Last year, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) tied up with Cleartrip as its exclusive online booking partner. KTDC sells all its set of tour activities and packages through Cleartrip. As per the data, Kerala witnessed 6.82 per cent growth in the tourist arrival during the first quarter of 2019. From January to March, 46,12,937 tourists — both foreign and domestic — visited the state as compared to 43,18,406 in the same quarter last year.