Studies predict a potential of 50 million Indian tourists to be present by 2020, making the travel industry a lucrative arena for travel start-ups like Footprint Holidays and Thrillophilia. According to G Viswanathan, CEO, Footprint Holidays, the ultrahigh net individuals are an underserved segment. Almost 35% of our market share is provided by our luxury travel segment.
Viswanathan also adds on the fact that curated holiday packages cost around ten times the industry average. He also says that Indian tourists are ready to spend large amounts on their holidays and plan their tours according to property.
On the other hand, Amit Taneja, chief revenue officer, Cleartrip says “Experiential holidays are a differentiator in the space and while these focus on tailoring an experience, we focus on the do-it-yourself model, where the planning can be done without a single phone call.”
Bangalore-based Thrillophilia is one of the leading travel start-ups in the country and works on a marketplace model for a range of tour and holiday operators. It raised an angel round in 2013 and is currently planning to raise another round.
“There has been a clear shift to activity-focused vacations and there is no clear leader in the Asian market for the category. Activity segment can be high adventure such as hot air ballooning, low adventure or in the luxury space, a dinner on a yacht. Typically, we get multiple last-minute bookings, after people reach a destination and are looking to explore activities,” says Chitra Gurnani Daga, CEO and co-founder of Thrillophilia.
