March 15, 2018 TnH Global

The Indian travel market to generate $48 billion by 2020: Incredible India 2.O

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), today organized ‘Incredible 2.O’ – the Next Trillion Dollar Opportunity. Speaking at the inaugural session, Deep Kalra, Chairman & Group CEO – makemytrip.com and Vice-Chairman of IAMAI said, “Online tourism industry is evolving at a faster pace as compared to previous years. With the growth of tourist inflow, the industry has become one of the main sectors to increase in manifolds growth vis – a – vis other sectors. With evolution of tech enabled start ups and newer concepts like staycation, adventure tourism, ecotourism, medical tourism and pilgrimage tourism across the country the industry is at the cusp of potential growth. As more and more people come online, smartphone penetration increases, technological disruptions and use of digital payments has actually changed the dynamics of the industry at large. At present this industry is standing at 2.O knocking the 3.O for the next level to kick off”.

A comprehensive platform to domestic online companies and professionals from across the travel, tourism and hospitality industry along with National and State Tourism Boards to congregate and conduct business, arrive at solution-driven innovations to counteract economic uncertainties, and promote inbound, outbound and domestic tourism in India.

Incredible India 2.O is a premium platform in the country, where one can find all the segments that make up the travel industry. A place where the entire tourism fraternity comes under one umbrella and a lot of actual business happens. Also through this event, newer and unknown destinations have been emphasized which is very important for tourism to grow. Not only it gives exposures to established players, but also it offers a plethora of opportunities to new entrants in the travel and tourism industry. It is a great networking platform where participants generate a lot of business leads.

Technology and digital can help achieve the target. Digital is already playing a major role in the sector with domestic air ticket and railways booking continue to be among top contributors to the Online Travel spends. Online Hotel booking has seen a substantial y-o-y growth of 60%. The Ministry’s vision can be fast tracked with the help of technology. However, for that to happen, the government must lower the tax burden, ease rules and build infrastructure if it wants to ensure 15-20 percent annual growth in tourism in coming years. Issues pertaining to GST, opening up of the shared economy and facilitating the adoption of new tech could herald the next trillion opportunities for the sector. This conference will chart the roadmap on how tech can be used to maximize the potential of this sector. The discussions are expected to set a series of recommendations on policies and innovative measures that India needs to implement to develop a competitive and sustainable tourism sector making it a major contributor to strategies aimed towards an inclusive and sustainable growth.