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www.travelweekly-asia.com | 7 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INDIAN TRAVELLER SOURCE: PhoCusWright India Online Travel Overview Seventh Edition 1. India's economic troubles continue, but its travel market is showing improvement. This is due to a combination of trade and consumer marketing, with influence from the entertainment industry. DATA BANK Report available at http://www.phocuswright.com/products/4405 2. In the past year, growth was evident in all travel segments with double-digit growth in all but one. Travel agents should jump at the chance to participate in tourism board roadshows for the exposure they give your brand. 3. India's gross travel bookings will increase at double-digit rates through 2016. And the basic component of food is so essential especially vegan diets. Providing good food will create the appetite for more. 4. Mobile access to content is essential in India. Travel companies have thus invested in a big way to cater for mobile market demand. Mobile bookings will increase four- fold by that same year 2016. 5. Mobile is the most rapidly ex- panding distribution channel in India. Morgan Stanley said internet users will rise to 330 million in 2016 finan- cial year, driven by falling handset costs, higher smartphone penetra- tion, faster bandwidth and higher internet content or online services. 6. Internet penetration is growing at a speedy rate in India. Online travel agencies (OTAs) are at the epicenter of rapid change across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. OTA gross bookings in APAC grew 12% year over year in 2013 and will rise 58% over that by 2016. 7. OTAs account for two-thirds of hotel sales in APAC and OTA mobile bookings will double from 2013 to 2016. Supplier websites may dominate, but OTAs are the fastest- growing distribution channel – and will continue in this pattern until 2016. *Based on the ATW World Airline Report from 2011