Skift India Daily: Agoda CEO Says Indian Outbound Travel to Outpace Many Countries

India could rank among the top three markets for outbound travel in the coming years, according to Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of online travel platform Agoda said while speaking to media in India during his recent visit to the country. Indian travellers are increasingly becoming more important to many countries and will become second to China in terms of spending in Asia, he said. An earlier Skift article had reported how the time is ripe for India — which already ticks most of the boxes as a suitable candidate to take over from China as the largest travel source market — to enter the dragon’s space. In India, online travel booking is growing at a faster pace after the pandemic in comparison to other global markets, outpacing the Asia Pacific market, said Morgenshtern. The total transaction value in travel almost hit pre-Covid levels in 2022. “Since 2019, the rank of importance of Indian tourists for Thailand for example has risen from 10th to 6th. I expect it to become more important in the coming years, not only to Thailand but to many countries in APAC,” he added. Morgenshtern also sees a lot of potential for inbound tourism in India. While India's inbound is growing slower than outbound travel, he believes it is going to see fast growth in the coming years.

Smaller Indian towns and cities have witnessed a surge in travel demand ahead of the festival of colors Holi, as per data by IPO-bound hospitality and travel technology company Oyo. “This time around, people are going back to their roots for Holi and looking for the most authentic experiences. Prayagraj clocked the highest growth (127 percent) in bookings in 2023, followed closely by Patna (126 percent) and Lucknow (125 percent). Delhi and Hyderabad also witnessed a significant increase compared to the same period last year,” an Oyo spokesperson said. People are opting to explore offbeat destinations and some are planning to go back to their hometowns for Holi cel