The travel booking platform Yatra Online is scaling up its offline presence and plans to strengthen its retail footprint in the South market. The company recently opened offline stores in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.
The South market contributes significantly to Yatra’s business, accounting for around 30 percent of its traffic and nearly 25 percent of its revenue.
‘Well-informed’
Sabina Chopra, COO of Corporate Travel, Yatra Online Limited highlighted the region’s importance, describing Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad as economic hubs with a strong upper and middle-class population. She added, “Customers here are well-informed and willing to spend on travel, especially luxury and customised holiday packages. By offering personalised itineraries through specialised agents, we cater directly to their needs.”
She elaborated on the company’s plans, stating, “We have started covering West, but North and East will be our focus in phase two.”
Additionally, Chopra confirmed that Yatra plans to double down on its presence in South India by adding stores in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, as well as tier-2 cities in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, throughout 2025.
Eyeing broader opportunities
While the initial phase of expansion is tier-1 cities, the company is eyeing broader opportunities. “Our initial focus is on metros, along with twin cities and tier-2 locations. Once these markets are well established, we plan to expand further into tier-3 cities,” Chopra explained.
Yatra reported a consolidated net profit of ₹7.3 crore for the quarter that ended on September 30 as against a loss of ₹17.1 crore in the corresponding period last year. Sequentially, profits rose by nearly 81 percent to ₹4.04 crore in Q1 FY25. The aggregator platform’s total operating revenue increased to ₹236.4 crore. The air ticketing business contributed ₹42.9 crore to the operating revenue in Q2 FY25, reflecting a 9 percent growth from ₹39.2 crore in the same quarter last year.
Additionally, the hotels and packages segment saw a substantial revenue increase, rising to ₹170.4 crore from ₹36.1 crore in Q2 FY24. The shares of the company closed at ₹106.25, up by 2.07 percent on the BSE.