Hindi is introduced as the 46th language.

The desire for alternative lodging alternatives has increased in India, and the number of such hotels listed on the online booking portal Booking.com has increased by 11–12% globally.

According to Santosh Kumar, Country Head for the Indian Subcontinent and Indonesia at Booking.com, “Hotel distribution is a fairly sophisticated route worldwide, including in India. While the GDS is used to distribute airlines, the distribution of accommodations is a major conundrum due to the vast number of possibilities. Currently, there are over 29 million listings, and the supply has increased. Nearly 7 million reservations come from the alternate lodging market, which is also expanding. It is crucial that we offer our domestic consumers the range of options and availability of supply in that space for a significant market like India.

Kumar mentioned that their website and app’s design customization and flexibility of booking are their main selling features.

Booking.com has been operating in India for about ten years and has pushed for regionalization to increase its market share. Hindi has been added as Booking.com’s 46th language this year. “It’s crucial that we communicate with our consumers in their own language, and the travel industry uses Hindi on the extranet to make reservations. We recently launched a Center of Excellence in Bengaluru, and within the next several months, we plan to hire 500 more people there.

Their primary goal in India is to increase brand recognition, and their collaboration with ICC is crucial.

According to Booking.com’s Travel Confidence Index, leisure travel, especially among Indians, continues to be a major draw for the company. People are attempting to book in advance to take advantage of bargains, despite the strain of the recession.

Although flight capacity is not near pre-Covid levels, according to Kumar, China has now opened up for tourism. This further moves the focus from the APAC region to India. He referred to India as their top priority market and claimed that the presence of foreign airlines, destinations, attractions, and experiences here to access the market is evidence of India’s significance.

Source- Travel biz