Ixigo Tests Train Packages and Partners With Uber for Distribution
Indian travel platform Ixigo launches Bharat Darshan train tour packages with IRCTC and embeds train ticketing directly inside the Uber app.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Ixigo launched Bharat Darshan, its first packaged train tours with IRCTC
- Packages cover spiritual and family travel priced between $73 and $3,135
- Partnered with Uber to embed train ticket booking directly into the Uber app
- Solves confirmed-train-ticket issues by bundling rail, hotels, and transfers
Indian travel platform Ixigo has made its official entry into packaged tours by launching 'Ixigo Bharat Darshan,' allowing users to discover and book curated spiritual and family travel packages sourced from IRCTC, the state-owned railway tourism and catering company in India.
Until now, Ixigo has primarily focused on selling individual travel components such as train tickets, flights, and hotels. The new Bharat Darshan service brings these elements together into a single itinerary on the Ixigo app, with package prices ranging from approximately $73 to $3,135. The initial offerings target high-demand pilgrimage circuits and family destinations like Kashmir and Northeast India, effectively solving the common pain point of securing confirmed train tickets by bundling rail travel, hotels, and transfers into one package.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Addressing this strategic shift, Dinesh Kumar Kotha, CEO of Ixigo Trains and ConfirmTkt, noted that the company had never ventured into packages before, having always concentrated on individual components like flights, buses, or hotels, marking this as the very first step in that journey. Rather than making an aggressive push right away, Ixigo is currently testing the waters by building an interface for existing IRCTC packages and utilizing customer feedback to gauge demand.
Alongside its packaged tour launch, Ixigo has formed a major partnership with Uber to embed Ixigo's train ticket booking capabilities directly within the Uber app. This collaboration serves as a powerful distribution and customer-acquisition engine, giving Ixigo access to Uber's vast user base while Ixigo and ConfirmTkt continue to power the underlying ticketing technology and post-booking support.
"We have never got into packages before. We were always into individual components, like flight, bus or hotels. This is the first step in that journey."
Dinesh Kumar Kotha, CEO of Ixigo Trains and ConfirmTkt
Ixigo's dual strategic moves—expanding into curated packaged tours via Bharat Darshan and securing a massive distribution channel through Uber—demonstrate a calculated approach to capturing a larger share of India's booming travel market. By leveraging IRCTC's existing itineraries, Ixigo minimizes operational risk while testing product-market fit, and the integration with Uber creates a frictionless customer-acquisition funnel within a daily-use super-app ecosystem.
Source: Skift
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