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India’s leading corporate travel service provider Yatra.com is on a path to a strong recovery with a further strengthened corporate travel portfolio. As the secular trend of formalisation of corporate travel plays out, the brand, which is the leader in the corporate travel business, hopes to see more and more customers moving towards corporate travel service providers with greater self-book technology and execution capabilities.
The leading corporate travel service provider also has the largest hotel and accommodation tie-ups (2,094,000) amongst key OTA players. 90 per cent of Yatra’s total traffic comes from direct and organic traffic.
In an exclusive conversation with ETTravelWorld, Sabina Chopra, COO, Corporate Travel and Head Industry Relations, Yatra.com said that Yatra is aiming to double its current corporate travel business in the next five years.
Expecting the positive trend in corporate bookings to continue, Chopra said that Yatra expects its corporate business to grow by 25 per cent CAGR in the next 3 – 5 years. Excerpts from the interview:
ETTravelWorld (ETTW): How has Yatra been recovering post-Covid pandemic? Please highlight growth and performance numbers, recovery in travel bookings, and pre vs post-Covid capacity?
Sabina Chopra (SC): India has been at the forefront of robust travel recovery with a significant increase in domestic tourism and bookings. Between January – March 2023, we witnessed 51.7 per cent year-on-year passenger growth domestically. We have witnessed a significant rebound in all our business segments post the pandemic. While domestic air traffic has grown by 65 per cent in 9m FY23 vs 9m FY22, business for Yatra has grown by 85 per cent. This revenue increase for Yatra compared to the market is driven by a very strong recovery in the corporate travel business, where we are the leaders in the country.
We expect this secular trend to continue ahead and for Yatra to reap the benefit of the same, especially on the corporate side due to its superior technology and service capabilities. However, the recovery on the international front has been slightly slower due to capacity constraints. We anticipate that this situation will improve as more capacity is deployed on international routes. However, the lack of visa support has had a detrimental impact on the international recovery. We are actively working towards addressing this issue to facilitate a smoother turnaround across all our international routes. ETTW: Proof points on why Yatra claims to be the leading player in the corporate travel segment over the competition. What are your plans to further expand the corporate travel business?
SC: Yatra leads the corporate travel segment with strong growth and performance. We serve around 813 large corporates, over 58,000 SMEs, and 29,000 registered travel agents on our platform. Our corporate customer retention rate is an impressive 98 per cent. We work with 25 per cent of the country’s top companies, including prominent accounting and technology firms, highlighting our exceptional customer service and technology capabilities. This segment is expected to grow rapidly as smaller travel agents shift to tech-enabled companies. Our expanding base of loyal, blue-chip customers reflects our success, demonstrating the strength of our technology and customer service.
We have invested significantly in a secure, advanced, and scalable technology infrastructure. Likewise, we are also strengthening our hotel and cabs solutions on green and sustainability factors.
In December 2022, Yatra launched Corporate Platform Partner (CPP), a unified SaaS platform for corporate travellers, which provides real-time updates on the best hotels, airline offers, and availability. Yatra is also expanding the CPP platform internationally, starting with partnerships in the Middle East and Africa, targeting high-growth regions.
ETTW: How have corporate bookings increased in 2022 compared with pre-pandemic levels? Expectations in 2023?
SC: The rise in corporate bookings in 2022 has been significant compared to pre-pandemic levels. This growth can be attributed to two key factors. Firstly, Yatra has gained incremental market share within our existing customer base, as legacy standalone players lost their service capabilities during the Covid period. Secondly, there has been a significant shift in the industry towards larger players like Yatra, who can provide customers with comprehensive service offerings and integrated technology support. These investments have allowed us to create powerful solutions that align well with industry changes and provide value and loyalty to both travellers and travel managers.
Multiple cities which are playing host to the Cricket World Cup are prepping to deal with the surge in visitor arrival and increased stay-option demand while hospitality players and travel agencies across India are also curating special packages for travel during October and November 2023. On the match dates, airfares have risen by 2-3 times while the rates for 4-star and 5-star hotels have surged by an astonishing 10-15 times.
ETTW: What are Yatra’s growth strategy and expansion plans from now on? What is the contribution of corporate travel to the overall business?
SC: Our growth strategy focuses on both the B2C and corporate travel segments. While we anticipate benefiting from industry-wide growth, we expect our corporate business to outpace our B2C business. Our B2C growth is driven by our strong brand recall and organic traffic, complemented by partnerships with banks and other distribution channels.
The contribution of the corporate travel segment is set to increase within our overall business mix, fuelled by the higher growth rate expected from this segment. As the largest corporate travel player in the country, we are well-positioned to capitalise on this changing dynamic and strengthen our market position.
ETTW: Analysing the booking and search data, please highlight current travel trends dominating the travel and tourism industry?
SC: Today’s Travellers are living in the moment and prioritising travel at every chance. One of the rapidly growing trends, “Carpe diem” travel, is fuelling the desire to savour as many new destinations and exciting experiences as possible in more authentic ways. While travellers still want to journey in comfort, the new definition of luxury is personalised adventures shared with family and friends.
Due to these evolving preferences, we are noticing travellers are booking their journeys much closer to the travel date to be mindful of uncertainties in their plans. This, however, makes the travel far more expensive on the pocket.
Our platform has seen a significant 100% increase in search bookings and queries. Varanasi has become the most searched city for hotels, surpassing popular destinations like Goa. Amritsar, Katra, Shirdi, Tirupati, Ujjain, and others are now highly considered by travellers.
Lastly, a growing focus on health and wellness has contributed to the rise of wellness travel. Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, and rejuvenation are key aspects that attract travellers seeking mind, body, and soul rejuvenation. Bookings for wellness resorts and hotels on Yatra.com have grown by 90 per cent.
During a panel discussion on building a strong case for services for corporate travel management at the first ET MICE & Wedding Tourism Summit & Awards, industry experts deliberated on the relationship shared by travel service providers and corporate travel managers and how they take forward the business conversations forward.
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