Yatra records 35% jump in bookings through mobile

The Indian travel market is estimated to be $30Billion in size and continues to grow in double digits. 2017 saw Indians travelling more frequently than before, aided by affordable pricing of airfares and hotel rooms. Ease of booking combined with enhanced technology has played a pivotal role in shaping the Indian travel sector this year.

Looking back, travellers are seeking out newer destinations, newer experiences and exploring newer cultures. Yatra has put together some interesting and upcoming travel trends observed in 2017.

• Homestays is an upcoming segment in the hospitality space: Also, tapping the cultural appetite of the travellers, homestays is a rapidly growing segment in the country as it provides a unique and local travel experience. This year has seen more number of people exploring homestay options especially in places like Goa, Kerala, Coorg and Pondicherry
• Business + Leisure: Global business travel spending hit a record-breaking $1.2 trillion in 2015, up five percent from the previous year. Combining business with leisure activities while visiting any destination serves as a convenient option.Travellers are often extending their business trips into leisure travel to spend some time exploring the sights.
• Customers are looking for loyalty programs as they are travelling more frequently: Customer retention is an important aspect for any company, and loyalty programme serve as a great option for both travel companies and travellers. Yatra’s eCash program is a comprehensive loyalty program which allows the customer to not only save on their every booking, but transfer the expiring eCash to friends/familiy or convert into shopping coupons.
• Wellness and Medical tourism is increasing especially by inbound tourists: Inbound travel has also increased phenomenally in the year 2017. The number of medical/wellness travellers has witnessed an upswing from the neighbouring destinations of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. With government extending e-visa facilities to a large number of countries, it has led a positive impact on inbound tourism.
• More Indians are looking at off beat travel destinations: Unexplored destinations attract millennials who wish to explore off beat locations. Domestic destinations like Bir Billing & Alleppey, Gokarna, Munnar, Spiti Valley and Ziro are gaining quick popularity. Also, international destinations like Norway, Iceland, Peru, Seychelles and Vietnam are attracting Indians who wish to explore beyond the conventional destinations
• Mobile bookings have grown by more than 30 per cent this year: With smartphone prices crashing and penetration increasing, mobile commerce in the country is growing strong. The smart device is changing the entire travel booking experience right from the time of research to booking of travel. The trend highlights a whopping 35% jump in bookings coming via mobile since last year. Yatra has reported 82% YoY growth in mobile app traffic. Today’s consumer is extremely demanding and volatile. A key factor that has driven this growth is affordable data & online travel agents (OTAs) focus on delivering a seamless travel booking experience via their mobile interface.
• Food experiences play a vital role while planning travel: Travel businesses and tourism boards have made a note of this rapidly growing trend. According to Food Travel Monitor report published in 2016, 75 per cent of travellers said they had been motivated to visit a destination because of culinary activity. Discovering local cuisines and seeking out the best restaurants become the new museum of travel.
• Budget travel continues to be the rage this year: 2017 saw large chunk of travellers allocating their budget to experiential travel. With OTA’s providing comprehensive and affordable travel solutions, it has made it easier for the traveller to find cheaper travel alternatives. They are focusing more on personal goals and immersive indulgence. The travel landscape has observed a strong double digit growth in budget travel in 2017.
• Adventure travel is enticing people across age groups: Indians are taking to adventure travel in a big way. Demand for activities like scuba diving, sky diving, paragliding, water jet boards etc are on the increase. In fact lot of individuals are travelling to destinations only for the purpose of experiencing these activities. International destinations receiving interest from adventure travellers are Scandinavia, South America, Southern Africa, and the Mediterranean.Talking about India places like Bir Billing, Auli, Andaman are popular among adventure seekers
• Road Adventure: Authentic adventure trips have become all the rage. Self-driving is the country’s new immersive travel experience. With better roads and highway connectivity, the young population is opting for road trips. Self-drive holidays have seen an upsurge with today’s travellers wanting to explore more about their travel destinations
• More number of people are travelling by flights with both full service and low cost carriers adding more aircraft and seeing an increase in market share this year:An industry report by IATA highlights more than 7% increase in air travel compared to last year. Being one of the fastest emerging economies and our burgeoning disposable income fuels the desire to travel by air. Government’s initiatives to boost air industry’s infrastructure to provide ease of travel has been a major contributor of this growth.
• Babymooning/ Second Honeymoons are on the rise: Tourism industry is witnessing creativity like never before. One of the most interesting trends spotted this year was, expectant parents taking a vacation before their new bundle of joy arrives and couples taking a mini honeymoon to rekindle their love. The new age travellers are now rewriting old traditions to suit their increasingly demanding life schedules. An exotic mix of urban and nature destinations like Croatia, Greece, Brazil, Peru, Morocco are popular in this category of holidays.

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