Online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip on Wednesday announced discount codes NATIONFIRST and BHARATFIRST to its customers amid India-Maldives row.
Nishant Pitti, CEO and co-founder of EaseMyTrip, said on X platform, "Now use discount codes NATIONFIRST or BHARATFIRST @EaseMyTrip to avail better discounts." He also shared screenshots of flights available at discount of Rs 600-Rs 700 for flights from Delhi to Bengaluru, Mumbai when these codes are used.
These discount codes could be construed as a way of promoting domestic tourism by the company amid calls from several quarters to boycott the island nation of Maldives as a travel destination following a diplomatic row between the two nations.
Maldives has been facing a backlash after three ministers from the Maldives cabinet made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep last week.
Many netizens on social media claimed that they have cancelled their scheduled trips to the Maldives because of the row with the hashtag “Boycott Maldives” trending.
Joining the ‘boycott campaign’, EaseMyTrip said it has suspended all flight bookings to the island nation on its website “in solidarity” with India.
Meanwhile, the government of the Maldives suspended three of its deputy ministers on Sunday after they criticised Modi for his post on X following his visit to Lakshadweep, inferring that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives.
The Maldivian foreign ministry said the government is aware of “derogatory remarks” made on social media platforms against foreign leaders and that the personal views do not represent the country’s position.
Amid the row, many prominent personalities, such as cine stars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, appealed to people on Sunday to explore “Indian islands” and coastal destinations.
With inputs from PTI