Tag Archives: BCG

According to a report titled ‘Demystifying the Indian Online Traveller’ commissioned by BCG and Google, the Indian hospitality space is expected to accelerate to $13bn worth of gross bookings in 2020, $10bn of which constitutes hotel bookings and the remaining is constituted by bookings of short-term rentals and other lodgings. Players in these alternate spaces have the potential to innovate as travellers, both domestic and foreign, become more open to alternate stay options. In 2020, budget and luxury hotels are expected to be areas of growth. The former is expected to grow at 13.5 per cent driven by the growth of the Aspirers segment on the demand front and the consolidation, standardisation and branding of currently upbranded properties through aggregator-based start-ups on the supply front. Mid-scale hotels or the two-and three-star properties will continue to maintain their dominance.

Indian passenger travel market is projected to grow at 11-11.5 per cent to $48 billion by 2020 with the biggest contributor, air travel expected to grow at 15 per cent to $30 billion. Hotels will grow at 13 per cent to $13 billion by 2020 while railways will remain $5 billion. This was revealed in a report on the growth opportunities in the Indian hospitality market over the next four years, released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google India. The report titled, ‘Demystifying the Indian Online Traveler’ charts the decision making journey of the Indian traveler and provides insights on the potential growth opportunities for travel businesses till 2020. Additionally, as more people come online, smartphone penetration increases and use of digital payments goes up, the report estimates that India’s online hotel market will grow to $4 billion with 31 per cent penetration at a CAGR of 25 per cent. Speaking about the key findings of the report, Vikas Agnihotri, Industry Director, Google India, said; “India’s domestic travel market is on an acceleration path. One of the key findings of the report is that by 2020, one in three hotel rooms will be booked online – a clear indicator of the growing importance of digital in travel research, planning and booking. There are several actionable insights for domestic online travel players including the role of mobile and the level of curation and personalisation that Indian travelers are looking for.” Demystifying the travel planning journey of the typical Indian consumer, the report shows that for many Indian consumers, a vacation is an event planned in advance as opposed to being an impulsive purchase. Consumers typically spend 46 days on average …