NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, MARCH 9
In 2019, the Indian tourism and travel industry saw newer and unique trends shaping up with travellers exploring non-commercial locations and increasing the percentage of women exploring the country. OYO Hotels & Homes, the world’s leading hospitality chain, witnessed a rising trend in women travelling from and to different corners of the country between the January 2019 – February 2020 time period. The company saw a 63% increase in bookings by women in 2019 (Jan-Dec) vis a vis same period in 2018.
Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Mumbai emerged as the top 5 cities booked by women travellers in the 14 months. Interestingly, of the total bookings made by women travellers, 19.7% were solo and 80.3% constituted more than 1 guest. Women preferred booking their accommodation via the OYO app as app bookings were 102 times more than desktop bookings.
Talking about the surge in women travellers, Harshit Vyas, Chief Business Officer, OYO Hotels & Homes – India, said, “In the past few years, we have witnessed an increase in the number of women travellers in the country for both leisure as well as professional commitments. It is also interesting to see growth in bookings for Dehradun, Mysore, and Lonavala showcasing the growing preference for exploring non-metro locations. At OYO, this is an opportunity for us to build offerings that cater to women travellers and their loved ones and offer them quality living spaces at affordable prices, at great locations and above all offer a world-class hospitality experience.”
OYO’s statistics revealed that the capital city, Delhi, was the most popular during the festive season as it emerged at the most booked city during Diwali and Holi 2019. Everybody’s favourite holiday destination, Goa topped the chart when it came to the most booked beach destination, however, Dehradun closely followed by Mysore and Lonavala were unique hill destinations that women travellers explored in 2019. OYO also recently released a digital film that highlights OYO as a preferred choice for millennials, in this case, a group of women who want to spend as much time as possible in each other’s company, before one of them gets married.