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Cleartrip.ae taking bookings

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CLEARTRIP announced the launch of www.cleartrip.ae to serve travellers in the UAE earlier this year. Cleartrip is a leading Indian online travel company and this strategic move heralds plans to explore new and dynamic markets.

With the launch of www.cleartrip.ae, customers in the UAE have access to a simple, comprehensive, fast online travel portal that allows them to book flights and hotels at unprecedented speeds with the most up-to-date information.

Tarique Khatri, vice president business development Cleartrip, said: “The region now sees more than 60 per cent internet penetration and 80 per cent credit card penetration and this has been evident with the number of transactions we’ve witnessed since our launch here. There is a clear indication that the market is ready for e-commerce and people are looking at options where they can search for multiple options and then choose the best suited, depending on brand, pricing or timing.”

E-commerce in Dubai is set to hit $36bn by the end of 2010, the UAE customer is demanding more choices in online travel and Cleartrip is launching a completely localised UAE product to meet this demand. 

Cleartrip.ae scours the internet for the most competitive prices on hotels and flights, it is the only online travel agency to offer global booking on low-cost carriers such as Air Arabia, Air India Express and Tiger Airways. And the application offers additional intuitive tools including the at-a-glance air fare calendar option and the display and payment of fares in dirhams for faster transaction times in just four simple steps.

“We have also introduced multiple payment options as well as a specially-designed debit card for the UAE market to win the trust of customers and promote online travel bookings,” added Khatri.

Dubai is just the beginning for the company’s expansion plans. “Our launch in the UAE is our first venture outside India and we want use Dubai has a hub to move into new markets.

“We are very flexible on our investments and will make the necessary investment to ensure the right visibility for our product as long as we reach our right customers,” said Khatri.

He is confident the company’s various tools will show tremendous potential in boosting online travel bookings and expanding its customer base in the region.

“Initially our main focus will be on consumers who want to book travel for their personal needs including leisure, VFR and small business trips. The aim is to target online consumers who have access to internet and have a credit or debit card,” he said.

“We also have plans to introduce later our corporate tool ‘Cleartrip for business’ and ‘agent box’ for travel agencies. We have set targets of at least 500 online transactions per day next year and a 30 per cent share of online transactions in the medium term.”

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