The explosion in smartphone ownership in tandem with relatively low usage charges and convenient ways to pay are transforming the landscape of travel reservations, says Krishna Rathi, country director, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Agoda. Storyboard18 caught up with Rathi to understand this phenomenon in depth. Rathi also touched upon the new brand campaign with Ayushmann Khurrana, partnership with Mastercard, travel trends, and more. Edited excerpts:
What has Agoda been up to in 2023?
Overall, 2023 has been an extremely successful year for India’s travel industry. The country’s rise as a travel powerhouse is clearly taking shape. The year also provided further indication that the future of travel is online. In fact, the industry is experiencing a steep change in the percentage of travel reservations being made online in India. Which makes sense considering the high smartphone penetration in the country, affordable mobile data packages and easier payment options.
For Agoda in India, 2023 has been a very successful year. We’ve seen growth in all travel segments—domestic, outbound and inbound—partly driven by more frictionless travel with relaxed visa requirements for popular outbound destinations like Thailand and Malaysia. Our parent company Booking Holdings recently opened a centre of excellence in Bengaluru, we launched our first ever TV commercial in India, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, and we also announced new partnerships like the ones with Mastercard and Snapdeal.
Can you elaborate on the new campaign with Khurrana and the partnership with Mastercard?
The brand campaign with Ayushmann Khurana is something I’m very proud of. The reception has been amazing, millions of views on YouTube so far. The video is fun and charming, and it’s our first ever television advertisement in India. Ayushmann’s genuine persona and versatility is aligned with what we as a brand aspire to be for Indian travelers. The video is part of our ‘See the World for Less’ campaign which will also run on digital channels. Over the next few months, it will help spotlight our commitment to delivering exceptional and affordable travel deals to Indian travellers.
Our recent partnership with Mastercard marks a strategic move by Agoda to revolutionise B2B payments within the travel and tourism sector. With a focus on simplifying transactions for digital travel platforms, we will facilitate seamless global B2B payments to hotels, airlines, suppliers and vendors through the issuance of Mastercard virtual credit cards. This collaboration strives to overcome challenges associated with legacy payment processes and extend innovation beyond traditional card payments. It also aligns with our mission to make payments simpler, both B2B and for consumers.
Can you talk about Agoda’s focus on India? Where is the business coming from the most?
With our focus on localisation and best prices for our customers, Agoda is the perfect travel platform for Indians. We’re strong domestically and we also help bring inbound travellers to India. And at least as important is Agoda’s strong position in markets where Indians love to travel to, like Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
The top five inbound markets were Singapore, United States, Japan, United Kingdom and Malaysia.
What are some consumer trends that Agoda has been noticing and how is Agoda leveraging them?
There are two trends I’d like to highlight, that I foresee playing a major role in 2024. The first is an increase in travel to international destinations that are well-connected with direct flights and offer easy visa policies.
With Indians preferring shorter holidays and booking closer to travel dates, one of the main factors that will influence the international travel choices of Indians in 2024 is the availability of direct flight connections to destinations with easy visa policies. More and more countries are relaxing visa rules or dropping visa requirements for Indian passport holders altogether, making it easier for them to travel abroad. Some of the popular destinations that will benefit from this trend are Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and potentially Vietnam, and others.
The second trend for India’s travel market in 2024 is more frequent domestic trips, with diverse experiences. Likely encouraged by economic tailwinds, our data suggests Indians will take more short breaks and weekend getaways within the country, exploring different regions and cultures. They will also seek diverse experiences, such as adventure, wellness, wildlife, heritage, cuisine and spirituality. Some of the emerging domestic destinations that will likely attract more travellers are Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan.
What were some interesting travel insights of 2023?
The rankings with the most booked destinations on Agoda underscore a distinct inclination among Indians for tried-and-tested destinations: New Delhi and NCR was the most booked destination on Agoda, followed by Goa, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.
Secondly, more and more bookings are made via apps. Booking Holdings, our parent company, announced that in the third quarter, for the first time ever over half of our room nights were booked through our apps.
And finally, Indians are exploring the world more than ever. Outbound searches from India grew by a 225 year on Agoda year-on-year.
How is Agoda working on its innovation?
Agoda is a tech company first and foremost. We’re extremely enthusiastic about the level of tech talent from India, as our CTO Idan Zalzberg mentioned when he visited India earlier in 2023. We will continue to invest in tech talent, and it will lead to innovations on the Agoda platform that will more likely than not be fuelled by Indian brainpower. Further to that end, Booking Holdings recently opened a tech centre in Bengaluru to support the company’s growth and vision for the future of travel, with access to this specialised and highly skilled talent.