🌎 Why Do Indians Love to Travel?

Whether it is workcations, or solo trips, Indians love to travel. As per a report ‘How India Travels’ by Booking.com and Mckinsey & Co., Indians embarked on 2.3 billion trips in 2019. And by 2030, this number is expected to more than double!

There are many factors behind this rise.

💸 Rise in Income Levels

Consider this. The average income of a middle-class person in India has grown from ₹4.4 lakh in financial year FY13 to ₹13 lakh in FY22.

With this rise in income, more and more people are travelling. In 2022, Indians spent $120 billion on travel. By 2030, this is expected to more than triple.

🚅 Infrastructural Development

Did you know that only about 33% of Japan’s land is habitable, with most parts of the country covered with mountains? This was a challenge for the country, as the inaccessibility of one part of the country from the other was also impeding its economic growth. To combat this, Japan launched something revolutionary. Bullet trains!

Bullet trains weren’t just successful, they also changed the way the world viewed Japan. The country, which was earlier known through its World War II destruction, was now famous for one of the ‘fastest trains in the world.’

This continues till today. Many people visit Japan just to travel in the bullet trains, with the stations also offering shopping malls, food courts and souvenir stalls.

And now, the Indian government wants to emulate the same success – and not just with trains. From launching India’s own bullet trains, to making airport hubs. In fact, just a few weeks earlier, UNESCO named Bengaluru’s T2 Airport one of the most beautiful in the world!

📱Travel Influencers

While the pandemic was a slow year for the tourism industry, it also gave birth to a new trend, especially among the younger generation – of travel influencers. Locked in their homes, many people started to find solace in the content put out by these influencers – both old and new.

The companies, as well as the government noticed this. Just after the lockdown was lifted, they started collaborating with these influencers to revive the travel industry. For example, the Madhya Pradesh tourism board began an influencer-based campaign themed ‘Intezaar Khatam Hua'. Kerala Tourism also flagged off 'My First Trip 2021' after COVID restrictions were lifted in the state.

🌐 What is making all these people travel?

If you think people travel only for fun, think again. India is not just famous for its scenic beauty anymore – there are many other reasons people are visiting the country. A few these being:

Business Travel: Currently, India has less than a 1% share in the estimated global MICE or meetings, incentives, conferences, and events business. And this is what the government is planning to build upon now. We covered this in Market Brew earlier. Read more here.

Medical Tourism: Over the past decade, medical tourism in India has witnessed a significant uptick, mostly due to its comparatively lower cost of treatment, and trained doctors, many of whom are fluent in English.

Religious Tourism: Religious tourism in India is thriving. According to the most recent data from the Ministry of Tourism, revenue generated by places of worship in India reached ₹1.34 lakh crore in 2022, a significant increase from ₹65,070 lakh in 2021. Also, these sacred sites attracted 143.3 crore domestic tourists during the same period!

Adventure Tourism: Did you know, India is one of only three nations in the world with both hot and cold deserts? The country also contains 70% of the Himalayas in addition to 7,000+ kilometers of coastline. This vast landscape also attracts many people to the country.

💰 What does India’s travel and tourism ecosystem look like?

🌏 Online Travel Agencies (OTA)

OTAs, which are internet-based platforms that allow users to book various travel-related services, such as flights, hotels, rental cars, and vacation packages, have made their mark in the country. The Indian OTA market is poised to reach ₹2.49 lakh crore by the financial year 2026, which is around 2% of the global travel and tourism market.

Apart from well-known companies such as Make My Trip, and EaseMyTrip, the country has also seen a rise in startups. For example, Taxidio has an online DIY (Do-it-Yourself) trip planner that lets its users enter a few basic details about their travel style and preferences, and in return, Taxidio generates a list of destinations that match their preferences.

Another startup, MeTripping, uses an artificial intelligence (AI) search engine, to provide recommendations for each user’s needs on where to go, how to get there, where to stay, and what to do.

With the advent of startups, traveling isn't just limited to group activities. Rather, it has become more personalised. This has also given rise to a more innovative travel ecosystem. To give you an example, Simi and Amrit, two sisters, founded the startup DIYTINERARY. DIYTINERARY prepares customised itineraries for the travel plans of its customers.

🏨 Hotels

2023 was a great year for the hotel industry. Premium hotels across India witnessed impressive occupancy rates of 70-72%.

Established players in the hotel industry experienced a substantial 20% surge in revenues in 2023 compared with 2022, mainly due to the expansion to Tier 2 and 3 cities.

In fact, over 70% of the upcoming property pipeline for the top hotel chains is coming up in Tier 2 and 3 cities.

🚘 Mobility

Mobility companies rent you a bike or a car for a few hours and charge you on a per hour basis. From Bounce, to Revv, these startups are not just limiting their growth to India. Take the example of Zoomcar. It was founded in 2013 in Bengaluru, and since then, it has expanded its presence to more emerging countries like Indonesia, and Egypt. And just a few days back, it also got publicly listed on NASDAQ!