Forty eight hours into the diplomatic row between India and Maldives, Indian online travel platforms are witnessing a 40 per cent decline in daily bookings, and a two-fold surge in cancellations of flights, according to industry estimates. At the same time, online search for travel to Lakshadweep has gone up by over 3,000 per cent.
Cleartrip, a Bengaluru-based OTA, has witnessed a 2x surge in cancellations of flights to Maldives, according to Gaurav Patwari, VP-Air Category, Cleartrip. Meanwhile, data from Saas platform RateGain showed a 40 per cent decline in daily bookings for Maldives over the last few days.
EaseMyTrip, which was one of the first OTAs to declare suspension of flight bookings to Maldives, said there were plenty of cancellations requests for the island nation. “We have started receiving cancellation requests in abundance for Maldives,” said Prashant Pitti, Co-Founder, EaseMyTrip, adding that the company was still tabulating the cancellations.
The company said the suspension of flights will impact 2.4 lakh annual bookings made through the platform, which had surged by approximately 40 per cent last year as compared with the previous year.
Nishant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, took to the social-media platform after the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) wrote a letter addressed to him expressing “deep concern” that the derogatory comments by the Maldives’ deputy Ministers (subsequently suspended) had affected India-Maldives relations. MATATO apologised for any hurt caused, stating that ties with India were crucial for the Maldivian tourism sector. It further urged positive ties, emphasised the importance of collaboration, and sought support from EaseMyTrip to reopen EaseMyTrip flights to the Maldives.
The condemnation comes two days after a full-blown backlash on social media directed at the Maldives following the derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Deputy Ministers at the Maldives Youth Ministry. This happened after the PM’s photos and videos were posted on X following his visit to the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India’s west coast on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Laksawadeep has witnessed a massive surge in searches since the PM’s visit. “There has been a 6x increase in flight search for Lakshadweep, and a 3x increase in hotel search for Lakshadweep,” Prahlad Krishnamurthi, Chief Business Officer, Cleartrip told businessline.
Players like ixigo, Yatra, and MakeMyTrip have witnessed a surge of 2,900 per cent, 3,000 per cent and 3,400 per cent respectively. Hybrid players Thomas Cook and SOTC have witnessed a surge of 950 per cent since December. “The island destination has become the most searched destination across the world today and our search data indicates a surge of almost 200 per cent on our portal for Lakshadweep cruise sailings,” said Daniel D’Souza, President & Country Head - Holidays, SOTC Travel.
In order to tap into the rise in demand, players are also offering customised packages to woo customers. Newly listed Yatra.com is offering Lakshadweep packages starting from Rs 24,990 per person offering a captivating island experience. Meanwhile EaseMyTrip has introduced Lakshadweep as its premier destination, on par with international favourites.