Tag Archives: Google India

The Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Google India has launched a 360° Virtual Reality (VR) experience video for the global “Incredible India” tourism campaign. Incredible India in 360 degrees takes through a journey across Hampi, Goa, Delhi and Amritsar, and will explore the places and people that make each of these iconic Indian sites incredible. Describing India as a destination of diverse experiences, KJ Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism said, “India is an iconic destination that offers unique experiences of climate, geography, culture, art, literature, and food”. The minister also said that government wants to give people in India and across the world an opportunity to immerse in our country’s rich heritage. And, through the partnership with Google, it wants to engage new and global audiences and offer them immersive content in a never-before-seen manner. The minister added that taking virtual reality to the common man at a low-free cost will further enable an increase in the tourist footfall in Iconic monuments and other tourist destinations with a focus on Museums.

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 …