Ibibo Group, the Indian online travel venture backed by global internet and media company Naspers, as well as China’s leading internet firm Tencent, has announced that Naspers will be investing another US$ 250 million in the group. The investment will be focused on extending ibibo’s leadership position in the Indian hotels category and on additional technology innovations.
Ibibo processed more than 6.5 million transactions for the period October to December (Q3) 2015.
In a recent research report by Morgan Stanley, Goibibo was rated No 1 by hoteliers across a number of parameters, including booking volumes, confirmed bookings, last minute bookings, backend and IT support, as well as insights and market intelligence. Goibibo hotel bookings surpassed 1.6 million room nights during Q3, up 400 per cent year-on-year, making it the largest hotels booking platform in India.
Ashish Kashyap, founder and CEO, Ibibo Group, said, “Our objective is to solve problems for transportation and accommodation providers and connect them to travellers. The commitment from both Naspers and Tencent to ibibo is testimony to the strength of our platforms and the opportunities ahead.”
Bob van Dijk, CEO, Nasper Group, commented, “The Indian e-commerce market, and the online travel segment in particular, offer exciting growth prospects for us as a group. With a talented, proven management team and exceptional technology, ibibo is well positioned to benefit from an increasing number of people using online travel services.”
