NEW YORK: MakeMyTrip.Com, the premiere online travel services company is celebrating seven years of being in business, having grown by 50 percent each year to capture 4% of the booming $1 billion travel business between the US and India.In a bid to give the business a new impetus by expanding the company’s interests to selling holiday packages in addition to air ticket sales, MakeMyTrip.

Com founding executives in India were in New York recently to meet with travel agents.Taking the opportunity to meet with the media, Sachin Bhatia, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MakeMyTrip.Com said, “The potential of travel between India and the US is only going to grow with the number of direct flights, increasing trade, and also with the Incredible India campaign, India has become a favoured destination and we hope to ride that wave.”

Bhatia told India Post, “The reason we are now reaching out to a lot of US travel agents is to educate them about India -- what the Tourism Ministry has done is to tell you why you should go to India, we are telling you how to go to India.”With over 6 years of profitability in real time bookings of flights, hotels, holidays and car rentals in the US, MakeMyTrip.Com crossed 562 Crore rupees (US$ 125 Million) in current fiscal year, which is approximately 180% growth from last year’s registered sales of 200 crore rupees (US$ 42 Million).

The company also acquired 1 million customers in 2007. The projected turnover for 2007 – 2008 fiscal year ending March 2008 is 1260 crore rupees (US$ 280 million), which is 124% growth from the previous year. “We have already crossed 1100 crore rupees, so we are well on our way to achieving our target for this fiscal year,” Bhatia said.

“In just two years of re-launching in India, the US business has become just a third of our entire business,” Bhatia pointed out. “But the US business is very profitable for us, it’s a steady business, although the growth is slow, it’s an established market.” Comparing MakeMyTrip.Com’s growth to established online travel businesses in the US which handle both ticket sales and holiday packages, Bhatia said, “If you look at Travelocity or Expedia, it took them 5-6 years to reach a 80-20 -- where 80% of their business was air tickets and 20% was holiday tours -- we are already doing 80-20 in less than seven years.

”Taking the use of technology further, MakeMyTrip.Com has recently tied up with Airtel and Nokia, making it even more convenient for users to book tickets. “With Airtel you can book tickets through their website, and as for Nokia, all new Nokia LCD handsets come with pre-set MakeMyTrip icon on their menu,” said Bhatia.

“We have also enabled a lot of bookings and a couple of payment options on mobile phones.”Bhatia stressed that in the face of some serious competition with new entrants to the online travel business, MakeMyTrip.Com is trying to differentiate itself through customer service and technology. “Our mandate has always been to use technology in travel.

We have a call centre that was launched basically for the NRI market. That was our USP against the mom-&-pop shops,” Bhatia said.