Friday, August 03, 2012:
Expedia.co.in, the world's largest online travel company and RedBus, India's largest bus ticketing company, today announced their partnership, aimed at making Expedia- a one stop shop for travel planning.
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In its pursuit to offer a localized and complete travel booking solution to the Indian consumer, Expedia today announced the addition of bus tickets to its existing range of services for their customers. This is another initiative from Expedia keeping in mind the comfort and needs of the Indian traveller, after the recent launch of the visa services. Expedia will launch an introductory offer- Rs 500 off on bus tickets with every hotel that is booked.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Vikram Malhi, Country Head, Expedia India said, "Buses are one of the preferred modes of transport in India, connecting some of the key Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities. With an increasing number of travellers taking to short weekend getaways, the demand for bus services have significantly risen over the last few years. At Expedia, we have constantly set new benchmarks with our innovative and unique offerings, including allowing consumers tailor their own trip as per their needs. In our endeavor to create a holistic offering for our customers who prefer to travel by road, we have introduced this new service in our portfolio. With this tie up, we are aiming to strengthen our domestic and inbound travel solution for an enhanced experience."
This partnership provides Expedia the access to bus seat inventory across over 180,000 bus services, operated by 900 operators across the country. The addition of such an inventory is likely to push the overall travel experience in India to the next level for both domestic tourists and foreign tourists exploring India.
Commenting upon the association, Mr. Phanindra Sama, CEO redBus said, "Expedia is growing very rapidly in India and we are very happy to partner with them for bus tickets. With this partnership, we provide our deep understanding of bus consumer behavior to them and in return our bus operators get distribution access on a rapidly growing platform like Expedia."
Bus travel has been growing at 25% every year and has become a preferred mode of transport. This is because, for several routes like "Bangalore-Chennai" and "Ahmedabad-Mumbai" bus travel takes same time as much as by rail. On top of that, luxury buses also provide unmatched executive class comfort to bus travelers.
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