Amidst India-Maldives diplomatic row, EaseMyTrip suspends flight bookings to Maldives

Updated on January 9 at 3:38 PM: Insurance company, InsuranceDekho has suspended travel insurance to Maldives.

On January 8, travel aggregator EaseMyTrip’s CEO Nishant Pitti tweeted that the company had suspended all flight bookings to Maldives. This comes after a diplomatic row began between India and Maldives over an Indian X (formerly Twitter) user’s post from January 4, that pitched Lakshadweep as an alternative tourist destination to Maldives following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the union territory. Following this post, in a now-deleted response, a Maldives minister made problematic remarks about India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on X. This response, in turn, led to an onslaught of Anti-Maldives content being posted on social media platforms like X, with #BoycottMaldives trending on the platform.

In solidarity with our nation, @EaseMyTrip has suspended all Maldives flight bookings ✈️ #TravelUpdate #SupportingNation #LakshadweepTourism #ExploreIndianlslands #Lakshadweep#ExploreIndianIslands @kishanreddybjp @JM_Scindia @PMOIndia @tourismgoi @narendramodi @incredibleindia https://t.co/wIyWGzyAZY

— Nishant Pitti (@nishantpitti) January 7, 2024

Notably, EaseMyTrip has also been running a #ChaloLakshadweep campaign since January 4, encouraging people to plan trips to the islands and comparing them to Maldives and Seychelles.

Some context:

The same day as EaseMyTrip suspended bookings to Maldives, the hashtag “#UninstallMakeMyTrip” was gaining popularity. X users were lashing out against MakeMyTrip for not suspending flight bookings to the island country just like EaseMyTrip had. They were also flagging that the Chinese travel giant CTrip had owned half of MakeMyTrip. Interestingly, the original X post that started the diplomatic row had called the new government of Maldives a “Chinese puppet”.

So the company @makemytrip will never suspend their operations for #Maldives because they have CHINESE board of directors!
We have to see where it’s loyalty lies to Indian Pride or the Chinese Stooges.
Support @EaseMyTrip who has more Nationalistic Sentiments!#Boycott_Maldives pic.twitter.com/9p1Z8YjQLt

— CAAptain Sanghi (@Fight4TrueIndia) January 8, 2024

Here are a few more Twitter accounts tweeting/trending both FOR and AGAINST @makemytrip. Most of these accounts are either handled or paid for by third party companies for trending a hashtag. Apart from paid Twitter trends by fake accounts like @rena_768 @its_Nikki9 @Srushti_71… pic.twitter.com/ZIhDn4W9j5

— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) January 8, 2024

Why it matters:

Ever since the diplomatic tussle began, many Indians have been cancelling trips to the Maldives. According to a report by Mint, over 8,000 hotel bookings, as well as 2,500 flight tickets, have been cancelled by Indian tourists following the tweet by the Maldives Minister. With travel businesses like EaseMyTrip jumping into the mix, this number could see a potential increase. According to the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), the Indian market plays a crucial role in the Maldives’ tourism sector. As such, this cancellation of bookings to the region could have a major negative impact on the country’s tourism-centric businesses.