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Marketing Tourism Airbnb

Airbnb aims to dominate the Indian market as it agrees ties with Maharashtra government

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By Taruka Srivastav | Reporter

June 14, 2017 | 3 min read

Airbnb and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) have inked a deal where MTDC homestays will be listed on the platform. This is Airbnb's third partnership with a state government in India after Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.

Airbnb makes strategic moves to dominate the Indian market, ties up with Maharashtra government now

Airbnb makes strategic moves to dominate the Indian market, ties up with Maharashtra government now

According to Indian Ministry of Tourism, India registered an 11% year-on-year increase in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during in 2016 with as many as 9 million tourists visiting the country, excluding visits by non-resident Indians.

In March, Airbnb launched its new platform ‘Trips’ in India, which is currently available in Delhi, and consists of 15 bookable local experiences.

Airbnb's CEO Brian Chesky said,"I am excited because India will be one of the biggest world market in 10 years for us. He further added, "India has seen tremendous growth in the last one year. About 17,000 properties are now listed in India and we saw 115 per cent growth in listing in 2015 from the previous year. In terms of travellers (bookings), there has been 185 per cent increase in travellers from India and 184 per cent increase in bookings in India (in-bound) from last year."

Airbnb will provide skill development workshops for hosts on hospitality standards, jointly conducted by Airbnb and the government over the next six months.

Amanpreet Baja, country manager for Airbnb told ET: "India is a key strategic market for Airbnb globally and we have started investing resources (in brand and marketing) from here on. The marketing campaign that we are running this year is by far the largest we have done and we will continue to invest wherever we feel it is appropriate."

In the APAC region, Airbnb saw a staggering 370 per cent jump in bookings. The Indian travel market is set to pass the $40bn dollar mark by 2020, according to industry report

Marketing Tourism Airbnb

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