As things stand today, India is among the most attractive aviation markets: In 2018, domestic passenger enplanements in India totaled 139 million, growing 19% year-over-year and the number of domestic flights (frequencies) operating within India grew an astronomical 626% from 165,070 in 1998 to 1,034,404 in 2018.

OAG released a new whitepaper – India’s Online Travel Agencies: Look How Far We Have Come – that explores how the region’s online travel agencies (OTAs) are capitalizing on the trends, demands and changing habits of India’s young travelers.

The whitepaper provides insight on:

“India’s youth are wanderlust, using their inherent tech-savviness to discover, plan and book travel. OTAs have a substantial opportunity to leverage technology to win, engage and retain high-value travelers.”

• The vital role Indian OTAs play in outbound travel
• Indian consumers’ increasing mobile usage and rising disposable incomes
• How OTAs can capitalize on the $8 billion digital flight retailing market

“More than 50% of India’s 1.37 billion population are 25 years and younger. This demographic dividend is India’s biggest asset,” said Mayur Patel, Head of ASPAC, OAG. “India’s youth are wanderlust, using their inherent tech-savviness to discover, plan and book travel. OTAs have a substantial opportunity to leverage technology to win, engage and retain high-value travelers.”

OTAs have undergone a 360º digital transformation to capitalize on the rise of outbound travel and to tap into Indian’s growing mobile user community. According to App Annie, Indian online intermediaries account for the majority of the top 10 apps in Google Play’s Travel & Local category. The most popular include iXigo, Goibibo, redBus and MakeMyTrip. These OTAs have successfully challenged the status quo by championing self-booking, price transparency and the mobile experience.

“Indian travelers have rising discretionary incomes and the data shows they like to spend on travel. In fact, the outbound market opportunity is now considered second only to China,” said Patel. “As domestic air travel matures and more consumers seek on-demand access to prices, ancillaries, airlines, international routes and destinations, OTAs will continue to push the boundaries on the mobile travel and booking experience. With a foundation built on technology and digital innovation, they are in the driver’s seat and cashing in to the maximum.”

For more information, download the full report