EaseMyTrip suspends all Maldives flight bookings following row over anti-PM Modi remarks

After a diplomatic row erupted between Maldives and India over the weekend, online travel agency EaseMyTrip decided to suspend flight bookings to the island nation for the foreseeable future.

Additionally, the industry body Indian Chamber of Commerce asked tourism trade associations and airline carriers to stop promoting and servicing Maldives in light of the comments made by the country’s ministers against India, perceived by many on social media as offensive, and instead divert queries to Indian islands like Lakshwadeep or Andaman and Nicobar, or even foreign destinations within Indian Ocean region like Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

“We have suspended flight bookings to the Maldives in support of the government, impacting 2.4 lakh annual bookings made through our platform. In fact, bookings to Maldives surged by approx 40 per cent last year on our platform as compared to the year before,” EaseMyTrip co-founder Prashant Pitti said in a written response to DH.

In a separate video message, Pitti said that the “homegrown company” has decided to not accept bookings to the island nation, which saw an average of 3 lakh Indian visitors every year, as per him.

Data from Maldives’ tourism ministry shows that Indians were the top travellers to the nation in 2023 with over two lakh visitors, followed by Russia and China. The country, which receives a bulk of its GDP from tourism, was swift in trying to control the damage, as the leader in question, along with two others, have since been suspended and the government has issued an official statement condemning their remarks.

However, this has not contained the calls for boycott that flooded social media over the weekend, with scores of Indians claiming to cancel their pre-booked tickets and packages to the country.

Online travel agencies said they are keeping constant tabs on the situation and will take appropriate action as required, but none of them currently have plans to follow EaseMyTrip’s lead as they await clarity. Vistara Airlines also said it will monitor the demand for flights between the two countries as the “situation is evolving right now”.

Amid the strained bilateral ties, Lakshadweep has emerged as a victor, as surging interest in the union territory since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit peaked over the weekend. Travel agencies and airlines are now promoting it as an alternative to the Maldives, with EaseMyTrip’s Pitti urging airlines to increase direct connectivity to Lakshadweep from major Indian cities as it seeks an alliance with Lakshadweep Tourism to promote the destination.

Similarly, MakeMyTrip on Monday launched a ‘Beaches of India’ campaign that offers discount packages to urge Indians to explore the country’s beaches instead. The agency noted a 3,400 per cent increase in searches for Lakshadweep since PM Modi’s visit, it said, a phenomenon being reported across platforms.

“We have seen a surge of 2,900 per cent in travel search queries for Lakshadweep in the last 3-4 days. Our government’s call to explore India’s gems has sparked a tremendous wave of interest,” ixigo co-founder and group chief executive Aloke Bajpai said.

On-platform searches for Lakshadweep on Yatra.com also surged 3,000 per cent in recent days, Bharatt Malik, senior vice president of flights and hotel at Yatra.com said.

However, the union territory may face significant infrastructural hurdles if a surge in tourism is to be expected. There is a need to develop tourism-related infrastructure like better hotels and resorts in Lakshadweep and also introduce more flights and cruises to encourage travel, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) president Rajiv Mehra highlighted.