UAE-based online travel firm Musafir.com is planning to invest INR120 crore over the next four years in India, as it looks to expand it’s presence in the country. Sachin Gadoya, co-founder and managing director, Musafir.com said, “We plan to invest INR120 crore for expanding our presence in India by 2018. The investments will be mainly for marketing campaigns and enhancement of product.”
By 2018, the company aspires to be among the top five online travel agencies in India, he added. When asked the market share Musafir.com is aiming to corner, Gadoya said, ” Our aim is to achieve seven to eight per cent of market share in India.”
Musafir.com was founded by Sachin Gadoya, Albert Dias and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani in August 2007 and the company’s website was launched in 2008 in UAE. The online travel firm also plans to increase its offices in India. It currently has a office in Mumbai. “We will be opening more offices in India. Our second office will be opened at Gurgaon by March 31, 2015. The other offices will come up in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Pune,” Gadoya added.
Right now the company has around 120 people in Mumbai and will be adding to the employees strength. On being asked whether the company is also looking at entering new global markets, Gadoya said, “We are looking at gulf countries such as Turkey, Morocco, Jordan and Qatar, and also at the Indian sub-continent.”
Apart from strengthening presence in India, the company is looking at Nepal and Sri Lanka. Musafir.Com currently provides access to flights for 3,000 destinations on over 270 airlines besides helping access to 75,000 hotel properties.