A Trip Into the Black ; There Are at Least a Dozen Portals in the Online Travel Market. Cleartrip Seeks to Dominate in This Competitive Market.

Summary

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There are at least a dozen portals in the online travel market, which is pegged at around $2 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) today and expected to grow to $6 billion (Rs 24,000 crore) by 2010.

Venture capitalists, too, are queuing up to invest in such firms as wanderlust-struck Indians are visiting these sites to hunt for the most affordable airline tickets, hotel rooms and tour packages. Cleartrip, a company founded three years ago by venture capitalist Ram Shriram's Sherpalo, claims to be leading the way in this market. What's making it easier for Cleartrip is the third round of funding, all of $18.5 million (Rs 74 crore), that it recently closed. Of this, $10 million (Rs 40 crore) came from Draper Fisher Juverston, while other investors, including the Mahindra Group, Kleiner Perkins and Sherpalo, bought in the rest. With this funds infusion (reportedly the largest such VC funding in 2008), Cleartrip has so far raised $30.2 million (Rs 120.8 crore) in funding. It also helps Cleartrip join arch-rival MakeMyTrip in planning to break even later this year; Cleartrip also says it should be ready to go public in 12 months.

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A Trip Into the Black ; There Are at Least a Dozen Portals in the Online Travel Market. Cleartrip Seeks to Dominate in This Competitive Market.

Internationally, portals such as Expedia and Travelocity have been successful selling cheap airfares and hotel rooms to tourists, with the former boasting of operating...

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