Travel in Sri Lanka

Cricket is the most popular sport in India and has a huge fan base. Beyond just being a sport, it is deeply embedded in the nation’s culture, evoking intense emotions from the masses over the victories and losses of their favorite teams: 90% of the global cricket fandom consists of Indians, highlighting the cricket craze in the country. 

Japan has been knocked off the top spot for the world’s most powerful passport for the first time in five years.

A mix of international tensions, economic turmoil, and political tension is causing many travelers to rethink the destinations they’re prioritizing on their “bucket lists” in 2023, according to an article on Wednesday in Toronto’s The Globe and Mail.

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

Having battled political instability and economic crisis, a resilient tourism industry in Sri Lanka now waits for the government to do its bit to communicate to the world that the country is open to tourists.

Potentially IPO-bound budget hotel operator and aggregator Oyo’s U.S. business has recorded a 48 percent revenue growth from bookings on its own platforms — such as the app, website, mobile web and call centers — in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. While Oyo’s app generated 99 percent growth, revenue from bookings via the company’s call centers reported a 59 percent surge for the quarter. Earlier this month, Oyo had announced its plans to add more than 100 hotels in the U.S. this year across the states of Oregon, Washington, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, and Texas, its fastest-growing state. This is nearly double the number of hotels the company added to its portfolio in 2022. “While bookings through online travel agents such Booking.com and Expedia Group play an important role in increasing revenues for our hotel partners, direct demand through Oyo’s own platforms leads to better margins for our hoteliers,” said Gautam Swaroop, chief executive of Oyo International. Swaroop added that the company experienced a 3x growth in app conversions and 2x growth in conversions from the call center using price optimizations and by creating operational efficiencies, performance management and better incentive structures in the organization. An earlier Skift report had mentioned that Oyo is likely to launch the initial public offering around the Indian festival of Diwali in November, once it gets the approval from India’s capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Nearly 97 percent of Indian travelers intend to make greener travel decisions over the coming 12 months, according to Booking.com’s annual Sustainable Travel Report. Amid rising climate anxiety, Indian travelers say they are making conscious accommodation and transport choices with 83 percent of respondents feeling that doing so would help protect the planet for future generations. Now in its eighth year, the research highlights a dilemma where people are forced to choose between affordability and making sustainable travel choices. Around 84 percent of Indians think the global energy crisis and rising cost of living are impacting their spending plans. Nearly two-thirds of them (66 percent) believe sustainable travel options are too expensive, while 80 percent are willing to pay more for sustainable travel options to feel reassured they are driving impact. “India has emerged as one of the top 10 countries with 20,000 properties now being recognized for their sustainability efforts on Booking.com. We are listening and together with our partners across the industry, we are examining every part of the trip to not only support our travelers but also benefit local communities and environment,” said Santosh Kumar, country manager of India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com. The report is based on insights gathered from more than 33,000 travelers across 35 countries and territories.  

Online travel company MakeMyTrip is rolling out a voice chat service powered by artificial intelligence (AI), becoming the country’s second major company after Tata-owned Air India to harness recent advances in generative AI. Last month, the airline said it is using GPT4 — the latest version of the revolutionary chatbot ChatGPT — to improve its FAQ section, pilot briefings, and more. MakeMyTrip will use Microsoft’s Azure Open AI technology for the chat, initially available in English and Hindi, the company said in a statement. The voice assistant will appear on the company’s mobile app and the front page of its travel site and is designed to help users book flights and holidays. “This Generative AI integration through our collaboration with Microsoft involves simple visual cues and voice commands in native Indian languages that will alter the landscape of travel bookings henceforth,” said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip. The interface will analyze specific user requirements and sift through thousands of options to recommend more relevant holiday packages. For example, it can summarize hotel reviews and extract individual traveler impressions. The goal is to elevate the hotel booking experience by offering personalized and relevant information to the user without having to scroll through multiple reviews. 

Here are some excerpts from Daily Lodging Report from the past week. If you’re not a subscriber, you should be. Get news on hotel deals, development, stocks, and career moves. Sign up here, now.

The national security advisors of India, U.S., the United Arab Emirates, and the Saudi Crown Prince met in Riyadh. They discussed ways to develop a joint infrastructure that connects Gulf and Arab countries via a railway network and also extends to India via shipping lanes. The White House issued a statement that the advisors met in Riyadh to “advance their shared vision of a more secure and prosperous Middle East region interconnected with India and the world,” American news website Axios reported. The Indian and UAE authorities did not issue separate readouts publicly. India is particularly keen to participate in the project to build a brand as an infrastructure builder in the railway sector. Boasting a strong rail network at home and buoyed by the success of creating such infrastructure in Sri Lanka, India has the confidence to do it overseas. It wants private and public sector enterprises to explore the region’s potential economic and infrastructure opportunities. Moreover, India’s connectivity with its Western neighbors could be enhanced as it can use shipping routes to reach West Asian ports such as Chabahar and Bandar-e-Abbas (Iran), Duqm (Oman), Dubai (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and Kuwait City. According to the Axios report, the idea for the railway project germinated at the I2U2 forum — which includes the U.S., Israel, the UAE and India — established in late 2021 to discuss strategic infrastructure projects in West Asia.

Using reusable water bottles or shopping bags, traveling outside of peak season and opting for walking, biking, or taking public transport are only some of the ways in which Indian travelers are integrating sustainability into their vacation planning, reveals Booking.com’s latest Sustainable Travel Report. In a bid to save water, 55 percent of travelers reuse their towels multiple times, up 21 percent from 2022. As more travelers are swearing by the ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ mantra, 57 percent of them brought their own reusable water bottles, up by 12 percent since 2022; 52 percent of individuals are utilizing reusable bags; and 44 percent recycle garbage while traveling. When it comes to transportation, 51 percent of Indian travelers now plan their sightseeing which allows them to walk, use bicycles or take public transportation. Looking to further reduce their impact, 41 percent decide to go off-peak to avoid overcrowding, up 5 percent since 2022. Additionally, the ‘buy local’ ideology is gaining popularity amongst travelers on vacation with 52 percent respondents favoring small, independent stores. “To help travelers in their sustainability journey, Booking.com has taken measures to help not only travelers but also local communities and the environment. This includes awarding thousands of properties in India and globally with the Travel Sustainable Badge, the ability to compare the CO2 emissions for different flight options or being able to find and book greener taxi options,” said Santosh Kumar, country manager of India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com. 

Amid the surge in domestic airfares, India’s Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia asked airlines to “self-monitor” the prices on certain routes, particularly the ones that have been most affected by suspension of cash-strapped airline Go Firstfrom May 3.In a meeting with airline executives, Scindia shared concerns over recent reports of “abnormal surge pricing on certain routes,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a statement. “Airlines must self-monitor air fares on certain select routes that have seen considerable surge pricing of late, particularly those that were earlier being serviced by Go First…a mechanism for ensuring reasonable pricing within the high reservation booking designators may be devised by airlines. This shall be monitored by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation,” the ministry informed. 

India’s travel and tourism sector is poised to contribute $200 billion (Rs16.5 trillion) to the country’s economy in 2023, just 3.5 percent below 2019, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The sector is also set to create over 1.6 million additional jobs this year, nearly restoring the employment levels lost during the Covid-19 pandemic to reach almost 39 million.

India wants to bet big on cruises. Consider these ambitious plans from Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy:

Just a day after budget hotel operator Oyo forayed into the premium resorts category with the launch of its new brand Palette, credit ratings agency ICRA estimates premium hotel occupancy in India to reach a decade-high of 70-72% with average room rates expected around $74-$76 in the financial year 2024.

Budget hotel operator and aggregator Oyo has forayed into the premium resorts and hotels category with the launch of its new brand, Palette. Oyo plans to have a total of 50 properties by the second quarter of 2024.

India’s newest airline Akasa Air has added a 20th aircraft to its fleet, making it eligible to fly internationally. The carrier, which will complete one year of operations on August 7, has also become the first airline in Asia to have the Boeing 737-8-200.

Nearly 34% of Booking.com’s global total room nights came from the alternative accommodation segment during the April-June quarter. 

Exploring Japan's capital is a mind-blowing experience, but it can also blow your budget. Don't despair – there’s an abundance of things to do and see in Tokyo that don’t cost a single yen. From gardens and temples to contemporary art, sumo practice and a world-famous fish market, here's a list of Tokyo's best free attractions.

This is part of Breaking Bread, a collection of stories that highlights how bread is made, eaten, and shared around the world. Read more here. 

A lot has been happening in the Indian Ocean in recent years, with new hotels, wildlife breaks, private island escapes and tours offering the inside scoop on local culture. From Tanzania to Sri Lanka, via the Seychelles, the Maldives and Mauritius, here's what you need to know.