Tuesday 4 April 2017

India’s domestic market powers ahead

India overtook China last year to become the fastest growing major economy in the world and is set to continue this in 2017 according to forecasts. However, the GDP percentage growth pales in comparison to the exploding growth in domestic travel. IATA reported that in 2016 India was the leading market for domestic air travel growth, with Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs) soaring by 23.3% according to IATA.

In more good news, 2017 is expected to continue the trend in Indian domestic travel. Journey numbers, occupancy and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) are all expected to grow in the country across the year, particularly for the latter, as hotel room construction has slowed recently according to Knight Frank.

It is also important to remember that the market is coming from a very low base. IATA’s figures note that India’s domestic air travel market had a market share of just 1.3%, compared to 8.7% for China. This means that even if the global economy performs badly, India’s travel growth should remain one of, if not the, world’s strongest in percentage terms. 

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Alex Hadwick
Head of Research, EyeforTravel
alex@eyefortravel.com 
  
Sources: IATA; Economic Times