As India’s travel & tourism industry gradually starts to rev up again post the coronavirus pandemic, sustainable tourism has emerged as one of the biggest priorities and shared responsibilities of both, the travel companies and travellers alike. The global health crisis has created an opportunity to redesign the way people travel – encouraging them to think ‘eco-travel first’ when planning their next trip in the new normal.

To help travellers make more sustainable travel choices, MakeMyTrip (NASDAQ: MMYT) India’s leading travel company has announced its partnership with BluSmart to launch Electric Vehicles (EV) for airport transfers. With this new offering, the company aims to encourage customers to consciously opt for eco-healthy travel options while choosing and booking first and last-mile transportation. Bookable through the platform, the new offering is currently available for customers in Delhi and Delhi-NCR region. Moreover, as the safety of riders and driver-partners continues to remain of utmost importance, MakeMyTrip is also ensuring that these EV vehicles meet the safety standards established in compliance to the guidelines of WHO and local health authorities.

As the company takes significant steps towards greener tourism, Parikshit Choudhury, Chief Business Officer – Ground Transport of MakeMyTripshares “Sustainable travel that was once considered a niche has now found a whole new meaning following the coronavirus pandemic. The ongoing uncertainty has pushed environment-friendly travel up the agenda of the entire industry as well as among travellers. At MakeMyTrip, as we remain deeply rooted in promoting responsible tourism, we have found a great partner in BluSmart which shares a common philosophy of making travel sustainable. With this partnership, we hope to improve the accessibility of cost-efficient, go-green transit options while promising safety at all times for travellers as well as driver-partners.”

Commenting on the partnership, Anmol Singh Jaggi, Founder & CEO, BluSmart Mobility shared, “BluSmart is on a mission to solve the problem of reliability, safety and pollution in the megacities of India and we are excited to partner MakeMyTrip and take this endeavour forward. Now MakeMyTrip users will have an option to choose a clean mobility service, which in these Covid times is ensuring the highest standards of sanitisation, for their airport travel needs in Delhi NCR. This partnership will accelerate the transition to electric mobility and contribute towards keeping the Delhi skies blue.”

As a part of its continued commitment to promote sustainable tourism, this year, the company together with MakeMyTrip Foundation rolled out an integrated program to eliminate single-use plastic from Neil Island, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Andaman Islands. The program focused on setting up infrastructure and resources to help people make more responsible choices while travelling to Andamans. From setting up convenience facilities at the beach including showers, toilets and locker rooms; to installing water ATMs; to building distribution spots for reusable bottles; to manpower deployment for waste management among others, the company has been at the forefront of promoting green activities. Additionally, the company has been successfully running other sustainable initiatives such as supporting plantation of One Million trees in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand and Udaipur districts, building eco-cafes in Dras and Kargil in Ladakh and running a first-of-its-kind plantation project in partnership with Sonam Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL) in Ladakh.