Tag Archives: Airbnb

Airbnb in its latest data on India-Thailand travel trends revealed that between 2022 and 2023, bookings in Thailand by Indian guests on Airbnb increased more than 60 per cent year-on-year. This surge in travel interest on Airbnb is driven by India’s changing demographics and a new, more travel-inclined younger generation, with Gen Z and Millennial Indian guests accounting for 80 per cent of bookings in 2023. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, India is the fifth largest inbound market for Thailand.

Ministry of Tourism, signed MoU with Airbnb to promote India as the most sought-after tourism destination. Under the MoU, Airbnb will launch a dedicated ‘Soul of India’ microsite for the global audience showcasing India’s rich culture and built heritage.

The UK, USA & various European countries are the top destination for Indian travelers. Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb, General Manager said, “We want India to have a diverse range of accommodation options to harness the travel rebound, while also helping to promote responsible travel practices”.   

In India, from 2019 to 2021, nights booked at unique properties have increased by over 30 percent, revealed Airbnb. Unique listings collectively earn ₹250 million in India just in 2021. Farmstays are the most-booked unique listing type in India, with more than 30,000 nights booked in 2021.

In a new research commissioned by Airbnb, it has emerged that around 79% of Indian travellers want to travel in ways that positively benefit local communities both economically and socially. It was also found that 68 percent of respondents are prepared to forego comforts and luxuries on a holiday if their actions can support a sustainable tourism outcome. More than 60 percent of people in India are conscious that communities need economic recovery and will factor this into where they travel and how they spend their money. Almost two-thirds of Indians place importance on using travel to meaningfully connect with communities and culture, with 60 percent believing it important that they immerse themselves in local communities. Over 50 percent of Indian travelers say that technology-driven solutions can make the tourism industry more inclusive, by enabling a wider range of local stakeholders to benefit economically

In order to protect potential long-term housing from being monopolised by tourist-oriented rentals, the city of Barcelona in Spain has proposed a new rule that will allow locals to rent rooms in their homes only for stays of 30 days or more. The city has already taken several measures to limit tourist accommodations made available through platforms like Airbnb.

Indian travellers are avid users of sharing economy apps and services compared to other APAC travellers, reveals ‘Amadeus Journey of Me’ report. According to the report, Indian travellers are embracing these services with 73 per cent using apps like Uber, Grab, Lyft, Ola, Didi Chuxing etc to get around during me trip, compared to only 37 per cent in the rest of APAC. Apart from it, almost half (48 per cent) use Airbnb, couch surfing for stays, more than the 29 per cent APAC average. The research, Journey of Me Insights: What Asia Pacific travellers want has been conducted in collaboration with YouGov.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has strengthened its ties with Airbnb with the introduction of Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme which aims to boost the tourism prospects in the state. It will also drive economic growth in local communities by helping micro-entrepreneurs in hospitality sector grow their business thorough four key pillars of support- Training, Enabling, Access and Promotion.  The programme will first be launched in Elephanta village where MTDC and Airbnb will associate with Gram Panchayat and identify 35 homes and get aligned with Airbnb standards. Hosts of these homes would be first set of entrepreneurs benefitting from this programme. Commenting on the programme Jaykumar Rawal,  Minister of Tourism, Maharashtra said, “Tourism is not only a source of revenue for the state, but is also key source of growth for local communities. In Airbnb, we have found a global partner whose vision to create skilled micro-entrepreneurs in hospitality and homestay ecosystem to further expand Maharashtra’s tourism potential. We are pleased to expand our partnership with Airbnb and launch the Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme, which will help mentor and support budding entrepreneurs in hospitality sector and build strong homestay network across key destinations. “ Airbnb has trained around 500 partners last year partnering with MTDC and with launch of the programme its aims to achieve 1500 micro-entrepreneurs with at least one entrepreneur in each village. To start off with the programme will cover destinations like Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Palghar with special focus on Elephanta Island. Chris Lehane, Global Head of Policy ad Communications, Airbnb said, “Airbnb’s commitment to create 50,000 hospitality micro-entrepreneurs in India.”

Airbnb has signed MoUs with the North Eastern Council (NEC), North East Tourism Development Council (NETDC) along with two key livelihood initiatives, North East Rural Livelihood Project (NERLP) and North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Society (NERCRMS), with the aim of creating hospitality micro-entrepreneurs across key destinations in North East India. Under the MoU, the NEC, NETDC and Airbnb agreed to expand tourism in the North East, improve the quality of home stay facilities and properties in the region, provide and promote tourism resources in the area and cooperate to improve the regulatory environment for home sharing. Airbnb also announced MoUs for strategic partnerships with the NERLP and NERCRMS to generate technology-enabled livelihood opportunities in tourism for micro-entrepreneurs in the North East. “This MoU with Airbnb is a step towards achieving our aim of doubling tourist growth rate in the next three years, by creating more sustainable accommodation options and enhancing the hospitality service standards in the region,” said Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region. “Last year, during Brian Chesky’s meeting with Prime Minister Modi, Airbnb had committed to develop a home stay ecosystem through adequate skills training and development and promote India’s high potential tourism offerings to the world; and the North East was an inevitable choice. We look forward to supporting the economic growth of the North East by drawing more tourists to the region,” added Kum Hong Siew, Regional Director, Airbnb—APAC. Source: ANI

In a first-of-its-kind, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and Airbnb will be associating with the residents of Elephanta Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to benefit them by providing more job opportunities. Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism & (EGS), Government of Maharashtra said, “In order to support this, the Ministry of Tourism & Culture has implemented several schemes and events offering financial assistance to people, groups and cultural administrations involved in various artforms. The Indian tourism sector is the fastest growing amongst the G20 countries and organising such a festival at the UNESCO World Heritage Site will ensure that our country’s tourism sector grow by $48 billion by 2020.” MTDC organised its annual Elephanta Festival 2018 on January 27 and 28, 2018 at Elephanta Caves. The festival included music and dance performances with a backdrop of rock sculptures, caves and pillars. More than 400 to 700 visitors participated in this festival. Considering the strategic position of the Elephanta Caves, the Mumbai Port Trust will be constructing India’s first and largest ropeway to link Mumbai with the island within the coming three years. The 8-km long ropeway will commence from eastern coastline of Mumbai, Sewri and finish at Raigad district at Gharapuri Island.