“Nation First” – only as long as it gets you media/marketing leverage. Did I miss an announcement on when they backtracked on their boycott?” Social Media X user Jay wrote on X.
After Social Media X user wrote about restart of the booking on EaseMy Trip, it sparked an outrage on social media platform X, where users shared screenshots of the bookings options available on the online platform.
“Nation First” – only as long as it gets you media/marketing leverage.
Did I miss an announcement on when they backtracked on their boycott?
Exhibit: EaseMyTrip 🤡 pic.twitter.com/xFEyUtADUW
— Jay (@thetrickytrade) May 26, 2024
In a response, EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti, replying to the above tweet, clarified that the company hasn’t removed boycott and will make an announcement if do so in the future.
The online travel agency stopped accepting reservations for flights to the Maldives on January 8. Three Maldivian ministers who have now been suspended made offensive remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media, which led to this decision. The neighboring countries’ tensions were heightened by these posts.
Co-founder Rikant Pitti had commented on the daring move made by the company in a February, “As a company with significant influence, we acknowledged our duty to preserve the honor of our nation.” We took a stand because we realized the importance of tourism and the significant contribution it makes to the Maldives economy, especially given the huge support it receives from India, our country’s second-largest source of income. Our commitment to maintaining the reputation of our nation overrode any prospective effects on our business. Therefore, we decided to stop operating in the Maldives on January 8th night, and we still firmly stand by that decision.”
In contrast to a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹31.05 crore during the same period previous year, the travel booking platform revealed on Friday a consolidated loss of ₹15.07 crore for the March quarter. The company declared a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹103.46 crore for the full financial year that ended in March, down from ₹134.10 crore in the previous fiscal year.
The shares of easy trip planner (EaseMyTrip) were down 2.32 per cent on Friday’s trading session to ₹44.50 per share. The stock has gained over 13.32 per cent in the last six months on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
EaseMy Trip share price had surged nearly 6% on January 8 after Nishant Pitti, CEO of EaseMy Trip, suspended all Maldives flight bookings.
Earlier this month, the archipelago’s tourism minister urged Indian tourists to visit the country and support their economy, which relies heavily on tourism.
