New Delhi: Booking Holdings, parent company of online travel aggregator Booking.com and agoda, has included India among its five priority markets globally. The company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, Ewout Steenbergen, said the growth of India’s travel market is faster than the average 10% growth rate in Asia.
“Our growth in Asia this year has been more than 10%, and India is matching that growth or growing even faster,” Steenbergen, who is visiting India, told Business Standard.
Great contribution of infrastructure to the tourism market
Giving credit to improvements in airports and transportation infrastructure in India, he said these developments are making India a preferred destination globally. Steenbergen said: “The development of airports in India, the expansion of airlines, the new plans of Air India and IndiGo have made the country an attractive tourist destination. Truly impressive” Although the number of foreign tourists has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels, demand from international travelers to India is increasing rapidly.
Growing demand for ‘alternative accommodation’
He reported that the platform is witnessing a significant increase in demand for alternative accommodation such as guesthouses and apartments. “Across the world, and also in India, the demand for options like guest houses and apartments is increasing rapidly. “While good hotels will continue to be in demand, it is interesting to see how alternative accommodations are becoming increasingly popular.”
According to company data, Booking.com has 3.9 million properties listed worldwide as of September 30, 2023, it said. These include 475,000 hotels, motels and resorts.
