Articles tagged “india”

With Chinese travelers staying within the country, destinations and tour groups are wooing Indian vacationers. In other top travel stories this week, Klook raised $200 million in funding, Alaska Airlines made commitments to the 737 MAX, and tourism groups can't agree on testing and vaccination policies.

MakeMyTrip hasn't had to tap into its credit facilities recently, and that's a decent sign as it takes advantage of India's tentative Covid and travel recoveries.

Homestays and guest houses are still a small market in India, but it's mainly a problem of supply and not demand now. Investing in the country's alternative accommodations is a long-term bet, but the potential is large.

It's an updated version of the classic bait-and-switch, and any travel business that comes in will be welcome after the Ebix deal fell through earlier this year.

Executives are fine-tuning their strategy by pushing more into business travel management, tours-and-activities sales, and international bus booking.

SpiceJet has championed reforms of airport processes that have already changed how all air travelers in India fly on all airlines. In a move reported here first, the budget carrier will begin to sell some of the tech it has developed to other airlines.

One wonders whether some travel companies like MakeMyTrip Group must rethink parts of their business during the pandemic. They may continue to struggle to pay out millions in refunds to customers due to a staccato pace of travel restrictions.

Acknowledging a company's shortcomings is a first step toward fixing them. But Oyo will really have to transform its practices if it has any hope of mending relations with hotel owners, some of whom feel burned.

Much of the post-crisis tourism recovery conversation has focused on China. But India should not be neglected, especially for destinations that have seen the perils of fixating too much on a single market boil over at the onset of the global pandemic.

Oyo put in place a substantial number of furloughs — likely in the thousands — and there are probably many more to come after the India lockdown ends. The Oyo that emerges will look different than the rocket ship of a year ago. Withdrawing from certain markets will certainly have to be under consideration.