AgTalk | Committed to invest Rs 100cr in India: Musafir.com's Albert Dias

Founded by Mohammed Al Thani, Sachin Gadoya and Albert Dias in August 2007, online travel agency Musafir.com is an UAE based company. In October, 2013 as an integral part of the company’s global expansion strategy; Musafir.com, announced its entry into the fast-growing Indian OTA (Online Travel Agent) market backed by the parent company, Universal Travels and Tourism LLC, which pioneered the e-commerce platform in the UAE with Musafir.com in 2007.

In an exclusive interaction with Adgully, Albert Dias, Co-founder, Musafir.com shared the company’s India related plans, how they see OTA markets in India and other insights.

Adgully (AG):  Brief us about the birth of Musafir.com. How has the journey been so far?

Albert Dias (AD): The idea for Musafir.com was formed when my co-founders and I met over a cup of coffee back in 2007. We were initially looking for ways to ease our own travel, but quickly realized that there was a bigger opportunity. We started from our first office in Sharjah in 2008 and were online by December that year. We opened our office in Mumbai in 2010, and have spent the last three years building partner relationships and tailoring our content for the Indian market. It’s been an exciting journey so far and we look forward to a great year ahead.

AG:  It is a UAE based website, what made you to enter into the Indian market?

AD: We’re embarking on a regional expansion plan, which has been in the works for several years now. India was the first country outside the UAE that came to mind, especially since two one of my co-founders and I are Indian. We see strong opportunities for growth with the country’s increasing Internet penetration and rapid adoption of online travel booking. We’re also looking at opportunities in other markets in the region – particularly in the Middle East.

AG:  There are a lot of travels companies already present in India, what differentiates you from them in this market?

AD: As a service provider, we don’t fly the planes that people travel in or build the hotels that people stay in, which is why we’re committed to making the quality of our service our differentiator – and not just any level of service, but exceptional service. We intend to supplement this in the long term with product innovations, of which we’ve lined up two key innovations in the year ahead.

AG:  How do you see OTA sector growing in India and abroad?

AD: Research indicates that the Indian OTA sector is growing at roughly around 18% each year. The majority of that growth is still driven by new Internet users and first-time travellers, but areas such as mobile booking and online holiday planning have consistently outpaced the average growth rate year on year. We expect to see Indian OTAs focus far more actively on mobile, hotel and holiday sales growth in the near future.

AG: What are the services that you offer? Is there anything special planned for Indian travellers?

AD: We currently offer flights, hotels and holiday packages online in addition to other travel services that we offer through our ‘Travel Experts’. We’re running a special launch promotion with no convenience fees for Indian travellers at the moment. We also have two exciting product innovations lined up in the year ahead.

AG: Share with us about your India related plans, and also the investments that you have chalked out for the same?

AD: We have a 100 crore investment commitment in India, the majority of which will be used in marketing. We’re looking to build a strong base of travellers in year one and aim to become a top 5 OTA by 2018. We’ve begun promoting flights to build initial scale, and we plan to tap into mobile travel bookings followed by tailored holiday planning in the year ahead.

AG: Is there any specific markets that you planning to target in India?

AD: Not at the moment. This is our first pan-India campaign and we intend to sharpen our focus on the best performing markets with each passing campaign.

AG: What is the current team’s size and how are you located in India?

AD: We’re a joint team of 150 at the moment, of which 50 are based in our head office in Mumbai.

AG:  How do you plan to market Musafir.com as a brand? How has your focus been on social media and digital space?

AD: We intend to establish our brand with a through-the-line media campaign built around the trust and longevity that Sachin Tendulkar stands for. We’ve already begun rolling out on digital channels and will be activating others over the coming weeks. We’ve been quite active in the social and digital space since our launch, and have a few interesting campaigns lined up on the coming weeks. We’ve also been running a quirky digital campaign over the past few weeks to #shekhufy the world with a turban and moustache, based on the character that Sachin Tendulkar plays for Musafir.

AG: You have Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador; do you think this association will help in targeting/ getting Indian consumers more easily?

AD: Yes, we’re confident that our association with Sachin Tendulkar and the values he stands for will help us leap past the first hurdle that most new OTAs face when it comes to reaching out to new travellers – trust.

AG: Shed some light on your short term and long term plans.

AD: Our immediate ambition in the Indian market is to win the trust of Indian travellers and build scale. We plan to tap into mobile travel bookings followed by tailored holiday planning – both of which have product innovations lined up in the year ahead. Our long term ambition is to become an innovative travel company with a presence across the region and a standing among India’s top 5 OTAs by 2018.

Albert Dias, 28 year old entrepreneur has co-founded the UAE’s first premium-experience travel website - Musafir.com. He began his career as a strategist at Wunderman MENA in 2003 and quickly moved up to the position of a Technology Lead at Proximity Dubai in 2004.

Prior to venturing into travel in 2008, Dias had helped deliver award-winning online user experiences for leading brands such as ADCB, Adidas, Mercedes-Benz and Showtime as Executive Producer at Proximity Dubai. Dias is passionate about creativity in advertising, has an eye for detail and takes a keen interest in innovation. He has been involved in the regional Internet advertising industry for almost a decade, and specializes in travel e-commerce and user experience planning.