New Delhi: While the controversy over Lakshadweep and Maldives skyrockets to alarming proportions, prompting diplomatic stand-off between the two nations, the online travel company MakeMyTrip faced the public wrath over its campaign to ‘promote & popularize’ scenic Indian beaches.

MakeMyTrip on Monday launched a special ‘beaches of India’ campaign to lure more visitors & tourists for pushing domestic tourism in the country and also help explore the scenic & stunning beaches within Indian territory.

The online portal said that it received over 3400% jump in its on-platform searches for Lakshadweep after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the archipelago and hence it launched a ‘gamechanger’ scheme to boost domestic tourism.

NewsFlash: We have observed a 3400% increase in on-platform searches for Lakshadweep ever since Honorable PM’s visit.

This interest in Indian beaches has inspired us to launch a ‘Beaches of India’ campaign on the platform with offers and discounts to encourage Indian travellers… pic.twitter.com/4CYb1iApZG

— MakeMyTrip (@makemytrip) January 8, 2024

However, the netizens didn’t look impressed with the travel company and its offer, rather they found ‘hidden agenda’ & ‘money minting motive’ behind the scheme. Some of them claimed that the company was trying to ‘milk the opportunity’ for ‘filling its own coffers’. They demanded the company first suspend all bookings to Maldives over latter’s derogatory & denigrating remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if it truly meant to work in nation’s interests.

How netizens tore into MakeMyTrip

Furious & livid with MakeMyTrip, many users demanded that the company first cancels all bookings to Maldives to prove its ‘Indianness’, much like what EaseMyTrip did.

Notably, EasMyTrip earlier in the day announced that it has suspended all its bookings for the neighbouring country ‘indefinitely’ and is rather working on ‘promoting’ tourism to Lakshadweep & Ayodhya.

“Cancel flights and tickets to Maldives. That’s the only option you have, else switching to EaseMyTrip,” one user said while other asked to have it ‘guts’, like the junior company.

How the controversy erupted

The fight over Lakshadweep & Maldives began after PM Modi’s recent visit to exotic beaches of Lakshadweep. As PM Modi posted pictures of serene & tranquil beauty, high-ranking officials & some ministers of Maldives found it offending and posted obnoxious remarks against the former. Some local Maldivian portals also claimed that India was running negative narrative against it.

Notably, Indians rank among top ten nations in visiting Maldives for holidays and tourism. Tourism accounts for one-third part of the neighbouring nation. If Lakshadweep emerges as alternate tourism hotspot, it will significantly eat into its economy.