Yatra.com targeting Tamil Nadu to strengthen its retail presence in South India
Four Yatra.com Holiday Lounges to be launched by 2009 in the fast growing regional economy

Chennai, July 17, 2008: Yatra.com, India’s leading online travel company today announced its expansion plans for its retail chain – Yatra.com Holiday Lounges in South India with a special emphasis on Tamil Nadu. Following the success of its first three Lounges in Chennai, Bangalore and Kochi, Yatra.com will soon be setting up 4 new Holiday Lounges in key cities of Tamil Nadu with a total investment of Rs.1 core by the end of the year 2009.

Speaking on the retail expansion, Ashish Kishore, Business Head for Hotel and Retail initiatives Yatra.com, said, “Chennai has a large industrial base in the automobile, technology and healthcare industries. The city is the country's second-largest exporter of software, information technology and information technology enabled services. It has a long list of IT Parks like Tidel Park, DLF IT Park and Chennai Tech Park. Chennai is also a base for telecom majors like Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. Also a lot of automobile majors like Hyundai, Ford and BMW are based out of Chennai. The presence of these MNC’s gives rise to constant inbound and outbound travel. This makes Chennai a key market for Yatra.com. Besides industrial activities Chennai has a lot of tourist inflow also, especially in January during Pongal.”

The first Yatra.com Holiday Lounge in Chennai, launched in April 2008, is already receiving over 500 footfalls a month. Yatra.com will soon be coming up with its second Lounge in Coimbatore. Through these Lounges, Yatra.com expects the Tamil Nadu market to contribute to at least 15% to the company’s total revenue, which currently stands at 10%. Through its online presence and its Lounges, Yatra.com is targeting revenue of Rs 1500 crore by the end of the fiscal year 2009-10.

He further added, “With the launch of Yatra.com Holiday Lounges in the state, we are looking at tapping the innate potential of the region, offering one stop shops for all the travel needs and giving customers the opportunity to research and plan holidays in a leisurely, convenient and comfortable environment.”

The Yatra.com Holiday Lounges are open from 10 a.m. till 7 p.m, seven days a week and spoiled in a luxurious ambience, a family can sit and plan a holiday in comfort. The Lounges are supported by Yatra.com travel consultants proficient in both English and the local language. The travel consultants are consummate professionals at handling all the intricacies of travel, right from international and domestic flights, hotels, to tailor-made holiday packages.

Currently, Yatra.com, has thirteen premium Lounges across the country, located in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon (Delhi NCR), Noida (Delhi NCR), Kochi, Aligarh, Chennai, Chandigarh, Jhansi and Ludhiana.