The annual passenger capacity at Indian airports is set to increase by 60 million. This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated new terminal buildings at 12 airports across the country.
22.02.2024 - 16:35 / skift.com / Sean Oneill
Accor’s top boss said Thursday that the hotel group will benefit as the middle class expands, especially in India.
“Demography is probably what drives us the most,” said CEO Sébastien Bazin during an earnings call. “What’s most important … is the increase of the emerging middle-class population, which went up one billion in the last 10 years, half of those from India. Those are the preferred targets for Ibis, Mercure, and many of the hotels in our core.”
Bazin forecasted that demand for hotels worldwide would increase at a higher pace because of the middle-class surge. Demand will rise from an average of between 3% and 5% a year over the past decade to probably between 4% and 6% over the next one.
But he said supply growth would remain between 1.5% and 2% a year because of various constraints, such as regulations that slow new construction.
“India alone… had 35 million international travelers for the last two to three years,” Bazin said. “There is no question in my mind that India will reach the 150 million mark that we’ve been enjoying with China and America.”
Accor’s CEO argued that rise of Indian outbound travelers will benefit his company in particular.
“When you’re going to have an extra 10 million, 20 million, 30 million, 50 million people from India traveling either East or West through Indigo Airlines or Air India, most of them will go to Indonesia, Malaysia, Southeast Asia,” Bazin said. “Most of them will be going to go to the Middle East, to Egypt, to North Africa. This is where Accor has the greatest inventory, market share, and leadership.”
Bazin didn’t discuss India’s domestic tourism, but his company has about 55 hotels with more than 10,000 room keys today. It intends to open 30 properties in the country “over the next three to five years.”
The Paris-based hotel group reported results for 2023.
“Accor generated record-high results in 2023, with EBITDA breaking the €1 billion mark for the first time in its history,” Bazin said.
Last year it generated about $1.084 billion (€1.003 billion) in EBITDA off of revenue of about $5.47 billion (€5.003 billion).
Skift Megatrend 2024: Is The World Ready to Meet the Indian Middle Class?
The annual passenger capacity at Indian airports is set to increase by 60 million. This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated new terminal buildings at 12 airports across the country.
JetBlue has had a rough few years. Its attempts at growth — whether through the Northeast Alliance with American Airlines or its merger with Spirit Airlines — have been struck down in court.
The Adani Group is set to invest INR 600 billion in its airport business over the next five to 10 years. This investment will be used to expand seven of the existing airports in its portfolio and will be split evenly between ‘airside’ expansion and ‘cityside’ development, the conglomerate said.
AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes said he doesn't regret posting his shirtless photo on LinkedIn as the viral post garnered him a lot of publicity.
On April 8, parts of Indiana will experience its first total solar eclipse since August 7, 1869, and its last until September 14, 2099. Up to 600,000 eclipse chasers could arrive on April 8, many of them heading to cities like Indianapolis, Bloomington, Muncie, Richmond & Wayne County and Terre Haute.
India is set to get multiple tourism projects worth INR 14 billion ($169 million). Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating these projects on Thursday during his visit to Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The projects aim to boost the domestic tourism industry in the country with the help of Swadesh Darshan and Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) schemes.
Since Sébastian Bazin became its CEO in 2013, Accor has had a series of transformations and done a lot of acquisitions, such as Mövenpick, Fairmont, and Mantra, and joint ventures, such as Ennismore.
It is easy to see why Bangkok is such a popular travel destination. Bursting with color and culture, exuberant temples and delectable street food, it is no wonder that this is one of the world’s most-visited cities.
The Indian Wells Open is my favorite U.S. tennis event, bar none. The Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa is a stone’s throw from the venue, and its beautiful desert grounds are a welcoming respite from the throngs trying to get a glimpse of Rafa (who will play on the evening of March 7th). Why is Indian Wells so special? There’s a paradoxical mellow and electric vibe there. A short drive from Palm Springs, California and set in the comparatively verdant Colorado Desert, it’s a place for meditation, introspection, self-care — and world-class tennis. The Indian Wells Open, AKA the BNP Paribas Open (BNP Paribas sponsors the event) is the most popular tennis event in the world aside from the four major slams, but the venue, Indian Wells Tennis Garden (owned by Larry Ellison since 2009), is so nicely designed that it never feels as crowded as it is. Food options are remarkably good (think Nobu sushi), and VIP and corporate boxes are close enough to the action (unlike at many venues) with excellent catering and service.
Between 1932 and 2021, Air India went from being the gold standard of aviation under the Tata Group to a nationalized airline in complete disarray.
The pan-India premium hotel occupancy is estimated to reach decade highs of 70-72% in the coming fiscal year (2025), according to credit rating agency ICRA. The agency has also estimated that the Indian hotel industry will report revenue growth of 7-9% in 2024-2025. For the financial year ending on March 31, 2024, ICRA is expecting the industry revenue to grow 14-16%.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jaclyn Sienna India, the founder of the luxury travel concierge Sienna Charles . The following has been edited for length and clarity.