MakeMyTrip's New Section 'Inspire' Helps Travellers Check Out Probable Vacation Destinations

If you have recently visited MakeMyTrip.com, you must have noticed a new section that has been added to the online travel booking site. The section is called Inspire (you can find it right next to the MakeMyTrip logo on the homepage of the site) and it helps consumers in planning vacations/trips to over 150 destinations across the globe. Let's have a look at what's new.

When you click on the new section, you are redirected to a page that has a world map on it (courtesy Google). Once there, users can select their starting location (currently only Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad and Tiruchirappalli are available) and then view flight options to 157 destinations in Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal etc), Africa (Egypt, Kenya, South Africa), North America (New York, Atlanta, Orlando), Europe (London, Paris, Madrid), South America and Oceania. Users can also filter their choices according to their budget (Rs 10,000 to Rs 99,000 for roundtrip airfare per person), the flying hours (0-6 hours, 6-12 hours etc), preferred time of travel (exact month or season) and entertainment options (like shopping, beaches, night life etc).

There are three different map views available that include photo view (shows photos of the destination), map view (shows the name and locations of the places on the map) and list view (provides a list of all the locations, with recommendations from MMT). Users can zoom in or out and MMT has also provided additional options like latest fare (can check fare for a particular date), fare calendar (shows the fares of flights for a whole month) and multiple flight options. The option of sharing on Facebook is also available.

The default fares displayed (when you click on a particular destination) are for return-trip economy class travel found by MMT users in the last 48 hours. The fares include all taxes and fees but may not include baggage fees charged by carriers. Also, seats are limited and hence may not be available on all flights or days. Once a selection is made, the user is redirected to the bookings page of MMT.

This is an interesting addition to the site since it allows both serious travellers as well as casual users (who have not actually planned a vacation) to look for probable vacation destinations. But what would have been more interesting is if the company had provided complete holiday packages (including airport pick-up/drop and hotel stays) along with the roundtrip fare details.

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