Online service improve economics in India

It is the opinion of Mr. Ananth Narasimhan, CEO, Atyourprice.in who worked on creation of software for the travel industry and started Ghumo.com, an online travel search engine. It is expected that pretty soon online travel portals will replace the traditional travel agent. 

Even though the current economic downturn has a negative effect on the travel industry it is believed that companies can insulate them better by planning for economic downturns. And online travel portals play a significant role in that process.

Today online travel portals are able to replace traditional travel because it combines two functions of traditional travel agent. It presents a good ticketing solution and good service.

The benefits of online travel for both travelers and corporate are obvious. On one hand, travelers make ‘one stop shop’ for air ticketing; they are able to have access to cheaper air tickets which are not available otherwise. On the other hand, among the benefits of corporate are automation of travel planning, booking and reporting, effective implementation of travel policies and access to both normal and unsold inventory. Moreover, some online travel portals offer more progressive online travel solutions. For example, Atyourprice.in allows the customers to request an air ticket from the airlines at his/her price. 

Airlines are provided a software link to these requests through which they will be able to evaluate and accept or reject the customer requests based on the availability of unsold seats. This solution is beneficial for both the customers and the airlines since the customers get tickets at their price while the airlines are able to effectively monetize their unsold inventory.