Travel site TripAdvisor will soon roll out its Instant Booking platform in India. The service is already available for US and UK users.
Speaking about it, Nikhil Ganju, country manager at TripAdvisor India, said instant booking will be the top priority in 2016.
Henceforth, travel enthusiasts can read reviews, research, as well as book hotels either on their desktops or on their mobile phones.
“TripAdvisor started testing Instant Booking globally in late 2014, and rolled it out to US users first, and then to users in UK. It is also being rolled out in other international markets,” informed Ganju.
Hotels that are available through TripAdvisor’s instant booking platform feature a ‘Book Here’ button, which allow users to book on the travel site directly, and is convenient for mobile users.
In October this year, the travel site announced its partnership with Booking.com, which allows its hotel listings available to book directly through TripAdvisor.
Talking about the Instant Booking platform in India, Ganju said hoteliers here are excited about it, and Booking.com has 12,000 to 13,000 hotels in its listings.
All set for travelling
According to TripBarometer study, the world’s largest accommodation and traveller survey, 44 per cent of Indian travellers plan to increase their travel budgets in 2016.
TripBarometer ‘2016 Travel Trends’, an analysis of 45,000 survey responses from travellers and the hotel sector worldwide, says that overall 82 per cent of the Indian travellers plan to try something new in 2016.
“Their top choices are wildlife safari (35 per cent), cruise (33 per cent), and adventure travel (29 per cent). What’s interesting is Indian travellers think holiday as a reward that their family deserves. Also, the number of short trips has increased.
As many as 34 per cent said they will undertake short trips (four days or less) compared with 26 per cent who prefer long trips,” said Ganju.
Solo travel is emerging as a trend globally with 17 per cent of global travellers planning to travel on their own for the first time next year.