Online Travel Sales and

Intermediaries in India
Euromonitor International
September 2019
ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport i

LIST OF CONTENTS AND TABLES

Headlines ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Prospects ..................................................................................................................................... 1
Amazon Begins Offering Domestic Flights in India ................................................................... 1
Online Sales To See Strong Growth Over Forecast Period ...................................................... 1
Rise in Direct Bookings Represents A Threat for Intermediaries .............................................. 2
Category Data .............................................................................................................................. 2
Table 1 Travel Intermediaries Sales: Value 2014-2019 ............................................ 2
Table 2 Intermediaries Corporate Business Online Sales: Value 2014-2019 ............ 2
Table 3 Intermediaries Leisure Online Sales: Value 2014-2019 ............................... 3
Table 4 Travel Intermediaries NBO Company Shares: % Value 2015-2019 ............. 3
Table 5 Online Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2014-2019 .................................... 4
Table 6 Total Mobile Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2014-2019 ........................... 4
Table 7 Forecast Travel Intermediaries Sales: Value 2019-2024.............................. 4
Table 8 Forecast Intermediaries Corporate Business Online Sales: Value
2019-2024 .................................................................................................... 5
Table 9 Forecast Intermediaries Leisure Online Sales: Value 2019-2024 ................ 6
Table 10 Forecast Online Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2019-2024 ..................... 6
Table 11 Forecast Total Mobile Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2019-2024 ............ 6

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ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport 1

ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND

INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA
HEADLINES
▪ Travel intermediaries sees current value growth of 11% in 2019 to reach INR2,438.8 billion
▪ OTAs focusing on hotels and holiday packages, which offer higher margins
▪ Amazon re-enters travel, offering domestic flights in India
▪ Travel intermediaries is expected to see 9% current value growth (4% at constant 2019
prices) over the forecast period, reaching INR3,738.6 billion (INR2,956.7 billion in constant
terms) in 2024

PROSPECTS

Amazon Begins Offering Domestic Flights in India

Having failed to establish itself in hotels in the early part of the review period, Amazon re-
entered travel in 2019 by offering domestic flights in the Indian market. Powered by local OTA,
Cleartrip, Amazon began offering flights by airlines such as Vistara UK, GoAir, SpiceJet and
IndiGo. On bookings of INR20,000 or greater, Amazon is offering cashback of INR2,000 for
Amazon Prime members and INR1,600 for other customers. Cashback is a common method of
seeking to attract users and gain traction in the Indian e-commerce market. The bonus for
Amazon Prime members highlights the importance of India as a target market for Amazon
Prime. According to Amazon, customers will receive cashback on bookings in their Amazon Pay
balance within 48 hours.

Online Sales To See Strong Growth Over Forecast Period

Wider broadband and smartphone coverage and increasing familiarity with digital channels is
set to increase bookings through OTAs during the forecast period. Increasing familiarity with
online bookings amongst residents of smaller towns will play an important part in growth. Online
travel agents are benefiting from the convenience they offer, combined with heavy discounts
and first-hand reviews. The process of researching the itinerary suitable for travel is made
easier with the help of OTAs and their mobile apps. Online travel retail operators provide
significant discounts, package holidays and the convenience of cancelling bookings with
minimal charges. These factors helped drive the growth of intermediaries in 2019, with OTAs
being the primary growth generators. As well as Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corp, other
leading online travel agencies are MakeMyTrip.com, Yatra.com and Cleartrip.com.
Intermediaries’ offline sales are also set to grow over the forecast period, primarily driven by
third-tier cities and rural areas of the country, where the availability of computers and
smartphones is still limited. Online growth is expected to be significantly more dynamic than
offline growth, however, and, indeed, online sales are expected to exceed offline sales for the
first time in 2021. Nonetheless, offline travel intermediaries will continue to play an important
role for hotels and holiday packages, as travellers look for trusted partners. OTAs are
themselves, however, expected to focus increasingly strongly on hotels and holiday packages,
which offer higher margins than flight bookings.

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ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport 2

Rise in Direct Bookings Represents A Threat for Intermediaries

Airlines and hotels are expected to continue to work to increase direct online bookings on
their platforms to reduce the commissions paid out to OTAs. Efforts in this direction will include
the promotion of loyalty programmes, discounts and other incentives. Direct suppliers have
started to provide loyalty cards, or provide discounts when using a certain bank credit card, as
well as other benefits. Most operators now have their own websites and/or mobile apps, in order
to remove intermediaries as the middlemen. Examples of loyalty programmes are JetPrivilege
by Jet Airways, the student discount programme by IndiGo Airlines, and the Loyalty and
Recognition Programs at ITC Hotels. The expansion of such activity represents a genuine threat
to the development of intermediaries during the forecast period. However, the capacity to
provide a broad and convenient, integrated offer covering a wide range of travellers’ needs
remains a key competitive advantage for intermediaries.

CATEGORY DATA
Table 1 Travel Intermediaries Sales: Value 2014-2019

INR bn
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Intermediaries Air 757.4 862.2 935.9 1,030.3 1,143.7 1,268.2

Sales Only
Intermediaries Car 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rental Sales Only
Intermediaries Cruise 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.8 2.9 3.0
Sales
Intermediaries Other 203.6 234.8 254.2 277.0 302.6 334.0
Transport Sales Only
Intermediaries Lodging 89.3 97.8 103.6 109.3 115.3 121.6
Sales Only
Intermediaries Package 330.8 394.2 443.7 502.7 567.8 638.3
Holidays Sales
Intermediaries Other 51.9 58.5 62.1 66.0 70.0 73.7
Sales
Intermediaries Online 528.5 642.3 722.9 829.3 963.9 1,119.7
Sales
Intermediaries Offline 906.8 1,007.6 1,079.2 1,158.7 1,238.4 1,319.1
Sales
Intermediaries 371.9 405.7 428.2 465.0 502.8 545.0
Corporate Business Sales
Intermediaries Leisure 1,063.4 1,244.2 1,373.8 1,523.0 1,699.6 1,893.8
Sales
Travel Intermediaries 1,435.3 1,649.9 1,802.0 1,988.0 2,202.3 2,438.8
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources
Note: Intermediaries is the sum of air, car rental, cruise, other transport, lodging, package holidays, travel
insurance and other intermediaries sales, the sum of offline and online sales or the sum of corporate
business and leisure sales

Table 2 Intermediaries Corporate Business Online Sales: Value 2014-2019

INR million
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

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ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport 3

Intermediaries 77,623.5 94,481.3 105,101.5 123,768.3 147,718.0 174,353.7

Corporate Business Air
Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 1.5 2.0 2.5 4.8 5.9 7.2
Corporate Business Car
Rental Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 30,549.1 35,371.1 38,256.6 42,384.6 47,131.7 53,090.5
Corporate Business
Other Transport Online
Sales Only
Intermediaries 1,029.9 1,179.2 1,286.6 1,476.5 1,681.0 1,874.3
Corporate Business
Lodging Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 234.8 274.9 303.9 335.9 385.4 431.5
Corporate Business
Other Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 109,438.9 131,308.6 144,951.1 167,970.0 196,922.1 229,757.1
Corporate Business
Online Sales
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 3 Intermediaries Leisure Online Sales: Value 2014-2019

INR million
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Intermediaries Leisure 275,210.8 340,916.3 386,026.9 443,976.1 517,678.5 600,551.7

Air Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 7.8 10.4 12.7 14.4 17.4 21.1
Car Rental Online Sales
Only
Intermediaries Leisure - - - - - -
Cruise Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 102,273.2 119,765.3 131,772.9 145,158.0 161,415.7 180,788.2
Other Transport Online
Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 3,782.7 4,331.2 4,642.6 5,174.2 5,823.3 6,493.0
Lodging Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 36,894.6 44,974.5 54,336.0 65,806.4 80,685.9 100,597.3
Package Holidays Online
Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 883.2 1,021.9 1,116.0 1,211.8 1,366.6 1,529.8
Other Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 419,052.2 511,019.6 577,907.1 661,341.0 766,987.3 889,981.1
Online Sales
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 4 Travel Intermediaries NBO Company Shares: % Value 2015-2019

% retail value rsp

Company 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Indian Railway Catering 13.0 15.4 18.2 21.3 24.1

& Tourism Corp Ltd
MakeMyTrip India Pvt Ltd 7.0 7.4 10.4 12.5 15.3

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ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport 4

Yatra Online Pvt Ltd 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.7 5.1

Cleartrip Travel 2.8 3.0 3.1 3.3 3.5
Services Pte Ltd
Cox & Kings Ltd 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.9 1.9
Expedia India (P) Ltd 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Thomas Cook (India) Ltd 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.2 1.2
International Travel 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
House Ltd
Ibibo Group Pvt Ltd 1.9 1.9 - - -
Kuoni Travel India Ltd 0.3 - - - -
FCM Travel Soultions - - - - -
(I) Pvt Ltd
Others 66.4 63.4 59.2 53.2 47.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 5 Online Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2014-2019

INR bn
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Online Travel Agencies 351.6 423.7 458.9 518.2 594.0 697.4

Sales to Residents
Other Travel 176.9 218.6 263.9 311.1 369.9 422.3
Intermediaries Online
Sales to Residents
Airlines Direct Online 179.8 227.1 261.6 297.7 345.3 402.7
Sales to Residents
Other Transport Direct 5.6 7.2 8.4 9.5 10.7 11.9
Online Sales to Residents
Lodging Direct Online 263.6 286.4 300.6 311.5 333.3 347.3
Sales to Residents
Car Rental Direct 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Online Sales to Residents
Other Direct Online - - - - - -
Sales to Residents
Online Travel Sales to 977.7 1,163.2 1,293.6 1,448.3 1,653.6 1,882.1
Residents
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 6 Total Mobile Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2014-2019

INR bn
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Total Mobile Travel 27.2 36.6 49.7 79.1 101.7 144.9

Sales to Residents
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 7 Forecast Travel Intermediaries Sales: Value 2019-2024

INR bn

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ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport 5

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Intermediaries Air 1,268.2 1,336.8 1,405.3 1,476.2 1,549.2 1,623.7

Sales Only
Intermediaries Car 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1
Rental Sales Only
Intermediaries Cruise 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.8
Sales
Intermediaries Other 334.0 345.3 351.9 357.1 358.6 358.7
Transport Sales Only
Intermediaries Lodging 121.6 122.2 121.9 121.3 120.0 118.6
Sales Only
Intermediaries Package 638.3 673.3 705.9 733.1 758.1 780.8
Holidays Sales
Intermediaries Other 73.7 73.8 73.6 73.2 72.7 72.1
Sales
Intermediaries Online 1,119.7 1,226.9 1,331.1 1,437.0 1,540.8 1,643.2
Sales
Intermediaries Offline 1,319.1 1,327.5 1,330.5 1,326.9 1,320.8 1,313.5
Sales
Intermediaries 545.0 564.4 581.3 599.4 615.6 631.8
Corporate Business Sales
Intermediaries Leisure 1,893.8 1,990.1 2,080.3 2,164.5 2,246.0 2,324.9
Sales
Travel Intermediaries 2,438.8 2,554.4 2,661.6 2,763.9 2,861.6 2,956.7
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources
Note: Intermediaries is the sum of air, car rental, cruise, other transport, lodging, package holidays, travel
insurance and other intermediaries sales, the sum of offline and online sales or the sum of corporate
business and leisure sales

Table 8 Forecast Intermediaries Corporate Business Online Sales: Value 2019-2024

INR million
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Intermediaries 174,353.7 195,266.6 217,037.7 241,041.3 264,521.4 288,731.1

Corporate Business Air
Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 7.2 8.7 10.2 11.8 13.5 15.2
Corporate Business Car
Rental Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 53,090.5 55,468.7 57,243.9 58,606.1 59,600.1 60,163.6
Corporate Business
Other Transport Online
Sales Only
Intermediaries 1,874.3 1,994.5 2,099.8 2,212.1 2,320.6 2,428.7
Corporate Business
Lodging Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 431.5 461.8 485.5 512.0 536.5 558.8
Corporate Business
Other Online Sales Only
Intermediaries 229,757.1 253,200.2 276,877.2 302,383.3 326,992.1 351,897.4
Corporate Business
Online Sales
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

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Table 9 Forecast Intermediaries Leisure Online Sales: Value 2019-2024

INR million
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Intermediaries Leisure 600,551.7 661,165.7 722,519.6 784,666.4 849,253.0 914,315.2

Air Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 21.1 24.9 28.8 33.0 37.3 41.4
Car Rental Online Sales
Only
Intermediaries Leisure - - - - - -
Cruise Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 180,788.2 188,887.0 193,825.9 198,438.1 200,178.6 201,417.3
Other Transport Online
Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 6,493.0 6,869.8 7,232.6 7,576.1 7,902.4 8,223.5
Lodging Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 100,597.3 115,127.8 128,896.3 142,095.0 154,632.0 165,406.1
Package Holidays Online
Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 1,529.8 1,618.3 1,701.5 1,773.6 1,837.2 1,891.9
Other Online Sales Only
Intermediaries Leisure 889,981.1 973,693.6 1,054,20 1,134,58 1,213,84 1,291,29
Online Sales 4.6 2.0 0.4 5.6
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 10 Forecast Online Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2019-2024

INR bn
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Online Travel Agencies 697.4 764.1 829.0 895.0 959.7 1,023.4

Sales to Residents
Other Travel 422.3 462.8 502.1 542.0 581.2 619.8
Intermediaries Online
Sales to Residents
Airlines Direct Online 402.7 444.2 486.9 531.7 578.2 626.0
Sales to Residents
Other Transport Direct 11.9 12.6 13.1 13.6 13.9 14.2
Online Sales to Residents
Lodging Direct Online 347.3 353.5 362.3 356.4 346.5 328.4
Sales to Residents
Car Rental Direct 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.1
Online Sales to Residents
Other Direct Online - - - - - -
Sales to Residents
Online Travel Sales to 1,882.1 2,037.7 2,194.1 2,339.5 2,480.5 2,613.0
Residents
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

Table 11 Forecast Total Mobile Travel Sales to Residents: Value 2019-2024

INR bn
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

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ONLINE TRAVEL SALES AND INTERMEDIARIES IN INDIA Passport 7

Total Mobile Travel 144.9 200.6 236.8 282.8 319.4 358.7

Sales to Residents
Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research,
trade interviews, trade sources

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