EaseMyTrip, a travel tech startup, has received an in-principle nod from its board to foray into the general insurance space. The company aims to expand its business and venture into newer categories by incorporating a wholly-owned subsidiary to carry out business related to general insurance. This announcement comes nearly a year after the listed unicorn set the wheels, for a separate insurance subsidiary, into motion. At its annual general meeting in August last year, the company approved an amendment to its charter that allowed it to venture into the general insurance arena.
The move to venture into the general insurance space could enable EaseMyTrip to directly offer travel insurance to customers that book itineraries on its platform. The announcement comes barely a week after the company announced a partnership with travel tech platform SanKash to offer travel insurance. It is still not immediately clear whether EaseMyTrip is also looking to foray into other general insurance segments, apart from travel-based offerings.
In its regulatory filing, EaseMyTrip said that it received board approval to identify potential target entities, both Indian and foreign, for acquisition. The startup aims to further strengthen its existing business operations and grow inorganically. The company aims to acquire startups involved in areas such as cruise and tour package services, hotel reservation services, and medical and educational tourism, largely in North America, UAE, South Pacific, and India. With this, EaseMyTrip also aims to foray into the medical and education tourism sectors.
EaseMyTrip has been witnessing a big influx of numbers, largely on the back of the post-pandemic boom. Strong growth in flights and hotel segments helped the company notch a consolidated net profit of INR 41.7 Cr in the quarter that ended December 2022, up 4.15% year-on-year (YoY). As a result, the startup has embarked on a slew of acquisitions and growth initiatives. It acquired a 55% stake in hotel booking marketplace cheQin for an undisclosed amount in January 2023. In the same month, it also entered into the offline travel space with the launch of its franchise model.
Founded in 2008, EaseMyTrip offers travel solutions from air tickets to holiday packages. With a presence in India as well as Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, the UK, and the US, the startup claimed to have a customer base of 1.1 Cr and 61,000 travel agents at the end of January 2023. It competes with players such as Yatra, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and ClearTrip, among others.
EaseMyTrip’s board’s decision is still subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval. The company aims to acquire startups in areas such as cruise and tour package services, hotel reservation services, and medical and educational tourism, largely in North America, UAE, South Pacific, and India.
