Skift Take
Bulbul Dhawan
Paytm started out as an Indian financial services company but is now diversifying its revenue streams, with a particular focus on travel. The fintech company often refers to itself as an online travel agency and sees travel as its core business area.
In its latest move to strengthen its travel services, Paytm has formed a strategic partnership with FlixBus, a German intercity bus service that entered India in February this year.
Will it be OTA? Officially, Paytm is still a “mobile payments and financial services delivery company” with a mission to use technology to bring 500 million Indians into the mainstream economy.
But after its payments bank (which managed its payment wallets, customer accounts and fixed deposits) was shut down by India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, earlier this year, the fintech company has been exploring alternative sources of revenue, one of which is travel.
On the Paytm website, Paytm Travel is the first segment you will see, where customers can book flight, bus or train tickets.
Paytm’s chief business officer, Vikash Jalan, highlighted travel in a statement on the partnership with FlixBus. Travel information siteWe are committed to improving the overall travel experience in India. Our partnership with FlixBus marks a major step forward in this mission. Aligned with our core business objectives Promoting growth in the travel industry.”
Last month, Paytm announced partnerships with travel sites Skyscanner, Google Flights and Wego, a move that comes after flight bookings on Paytm grew 19% year-on-year in the January-March quarter of this year.
The company recently added features such as seat guarantee to its train booking division and has also partnered with Samsung to offer air and bus ticket bookings through Samsung Wallet.
The company’s travel division also saw the addition of three new airlines: Cambodia Angkor Air, Salam Air and flydubai.
Importance of Paytm: Paytm has played a key role in India’s digital economy, especially since demonetisation in November 2016, when the Indian government stopped issuing 500 and 1,000 rupee notes to curb the problem of counterfeit currency. The move boosted digital payments in India, giving Paytm a first-mover advantage in QR-based mobile payments with its payment wallet.
Paytm’s user base has grown from about 140 million in October 2016 to 270 million a year later, reaching even the more remote parts of the country.
Its user base in small towns across India has made Paytm a significant player, giving it a slight edge over other OTAs.
Visa applications to France surge ahead of Paris Olympics
Online visa platform Atris has seen a 60% increase in French visa applications from Indian travellers ahead of the Paris Summer Olympics, with the largest proportion of applicants coming from major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Group visa applications also increased by 45% as Indians plan Olympic trips with family and friends.
As Skift previously reported, sports tourism is on the rise in India, with Indian online travel agencies witnessing up to 40% increase in demand for global sporting events, including tennis tournaments, the Cricket World Cup series, the Olympics and Formula 1.
Atris has also seen a 50% increase in sports tourism-related searches, with travelers looking to visit French sporting venues such as the Stade de France and Stade Roland Garros.
Mumbai airport sees 7% increase in passenger numbers
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) recorded over 13.4 million passengers between April and June 2024, a 7% increase over the same period last year.
The airport handled 4.7 million passengers in May alone, according to a CSMIA statement, making Mumbai India’s second-busiest airport after Delhi.
In the domestic market, the top three destinations for passengers originating from Mumbai were Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Internationally, most passengers traveled to Dubai, Singapore and London.
Indian airlines IndiGo, Air India and Vistara captured the largest market share in domestic and international traffic at the airport during the quarter, according to CSMIA.
Air India teams up with Bicester Collection
Full-service airline Air India has partnered with luxury shopping destination business The Bicester Collection to enable members of Air India’s loyalty programme, Flying Returns, to earn points while shopping and dining at The Bicester Collection’s open-air villages across Europe.
“Luxury shopping demand among Indians continues to grow at a record pace and Indians are now among the highest spenders when travelling globally,” said Sunil Suresh, head of marketing, loyalty and e-commerce at Air India.
In 2023-24, Indians are set to hit a new peak in overseas spending at $31.7 billion, of which 54% or $17 billion will be on international travel, up 25% from the previous year.
Radisson opens Grand Mirage Dhanbad in Jharkhand
Radisson Hotel Group has opened Grand Mirage Dhanbad, a member of Radisson Individual, in Jharkhand. The hotel has 70 rooms and suites.
With over 50 percent of its 180 hotels in smaller cities, Radisson’s hotel is part of its expansion strategy focused on second and third tier cities in India.
Executive vice president and global chief development officer Ellie Younes also spoke to Skift about this earlier this year, saying, “Our expansion plans for 2024 are ambitious, targeting not only major cities but also second- and third-tier towns to meet growing demand in these markets.”
Radisson operates 10 brands in India, including the recently launched Radisson Collection, Radisson Individual and its extension, Radisson Individual Retreats.
Photo credit: This fintech company often describes itself as an online travel agency.
