Amsterdam-based Booking.com revealed | India the fastest growing market with 147,000 alternative accommodations
Amsterdam-based Booking.com claims over 880,000 listings in India out of which 147,000 are ‘alternative accommodations’ i.e. homestays, apartments, villas, etc.
Pepijn Rivers, Senior VP and Head of Accommodation, Booking.com mentioned that 2017-18 saw a 68 percent increase in supply from India.
Out of 880,000 listings in India, 147,000 are ‘alternative accommodation’ which include homestays, apartments, villas, bed-and-breakfast, cabins, boats, and treehouses, etc.
Travel hubs Kerala, Karnataka, and Goa have the highest number of alternative properties.
Booking.com states it grew 38 percent globally in FY2019 out of which 20 percent of all revenue and 40 percent of all bookings come from alternative accommodations.
As per Booking.com, the rise of disposable income among the middle class is changing the attitude towards travel in India.
According to an IBEF report, the travel and tourism sector contributes $234 billion to India’s GDP and is expected to reach $492.2 billion by 2028.
Booking.com did not reveal the exact revenue generated from India, but stated that India was one of the most important markets for it. In India, it has allies in online travel platforms like MakeMyTrip, Yaatra, Ixigo, and Trainman wherein the mutually beneficial ecosystem helps them build global supply on a revenue sharing model.
Indian traveller trends
According to Booking.com’s findings, top cities visited by travellers in India include New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
58 percent Indians favour staycations (holiday experience with limited transit time), which is above the global number at 46 percent.
43 percent Indian travellers are pro to listing their homes on a travel site, which is also much above the global number at 21 percent.
Where do people visit India from?
Booking.com’s statistics show that the highest number of vacationers to India come from the UK, France, the US, Germany, and the UAE.
The most visited cities are New Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chennai, and Bengaluru.
