Travel Boom: India spends 2X of pre-pandemic level on Airbnb with Goa leading the charge

• Airbnb contributed over USD$920 million to India's GDP and supported over 85,000 jobs in FY2023.
• During these 12 months, Airbnb guests spent a total of $815 million in India, more than double of the 2019 levels.
• Report also explores dispersal of tourism away from urban areas, and long-term stays driven by the emergence of flexible work arrangements since the pandemic.
  

Indians are not done with revenge spending it seems. And they are travelling like there is no tomorrow. Research done by Oxford Economics has found that Indians spent a total of $815 mn on stays at Airbnb in the financial year gone by. Not just this, the platform for homestay has contributed over $920 million to India’s Gross Domestic Product and supported over 85,000 Indian jobs over 12 months ending March 2023. The GDP contribution and jobs supported in India has more than doubled since 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic struck resulting in lockdowns and international border restrictions.

The report also highlighted the powerful multiplier effect Airbnb guest spending has within local communities. In 2022-23, Airbnb guests spent a total of $815 million in India in areas like purchases on transportation, restaurants, retail stores, and retail stores. The spending has more than doubled from 2019 levels.

In India, Airbnb’s presence was the highest in Goa, where Airbnb guests spending amounted to almost $190 million, this was followed by Bangalore and Delhi, Mumbai and Manali.

It details the significant contribution made by Airbnb guests to domestic tourism across the nation. In 2022-23, domestic Airbnb guest spending totalled $670 million, and accounted for approximately 82% of total Airbnb guest spend in India, around a three-fold increase from 2019.

The report also explores two profound changes in travel behaviour since the pandemic: the dispersal of tourism away from urban areas, and long-term stays driven by the emergence of flexible work arrangements.

James Lambert, Director for Economic Consulting in Asia for Oxford Economics said, Airbnb has clearly played a major role in the resilience and rebirth of the Indian travel and tourism sector in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Airbnb has been at the heart of some of the trends reshaping the nation’s travel and tourism industry, including the shift in travel away from cities and towards more rural communities, and the increase in demand for long-stay trips, exemplified by the live and work anywhere phenomenon, Lambert said.

Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s General Manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan said, “Travel is now more dispersed, and so the economic benefits are being shared across more destinations, enabling a valuable economic contribution to rural and regional areas. This dispersal is being driven by Hosts on Airbnb and in turn creating economic opportunities for various communities.

The report explores the twelve months to March 2023 — representing a year since travel restrictions started to be removed across India.