Expedia expands to India

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The Indian site is the newest addition to Expedia Inc.'s global portfolio and the seventeenth Expedia branded site.

Expedia Inc.'s expansion into India is part of an aggressive international growth strategy mapped out by its chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi.

"Our goal is to grow our international revenue to half of our total revenue, and burgeoning travel markets like India are key to achieving that goal," Khosrowshahi said.

"India is an enormously attractive marketplace for us. It's over 1.1 billion people, nearly 17 percent of the world's population. It's an economy that has been enjoying pretty explosive growth over the last 5 to 10 years. As the economy grows, you're going to have a giant middle class that's going to want to travel not only inside of India, but is really going to want to explore the broader Asia-Pacific areas, and is going to eventually travel worldwide. We want to be there to serve them," he added.

Sharat Dhall, managing director, Expedia.co.in seconds that as he said, "Indian online travel market is estimated to be worth over $2 billion for 2007-08 and is growing rapidly. The number of Indians traveling abroad is growing."

"For Indian travelers who prefer to holiday in exotic locations overseas, Expedia is the ideal place to book travel, as we are an international travel expert with global product range, competitive prices, and in-depth travel and destination information," he added, affirming that the idea will click with the Indian travelers.

The online travel booking site has been designed specifically for Indian travelers and offers the best in hotels and travel destinations worldwide, along with fully localized service and an in-country customer care center staffed with dedicated agents who speak both Hindi and English.

Expedia Inc.'s customers in India will have access to nearly 80,000 hotels across the globe covering a wide price range.

Together with that, the site offers services like tickets to events, attractions, sightseeing tours, theme parks, spas, restaurants, culinary experiences, and unique experiences such as diving with sharks in Australia or going quad biking in Dubai.

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