India now allows nationals from Japan, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates to get a visa-on-arrival for tourism, business, conferences, and medical purposes. The visa will be valid for 60 days, and travelers will be able to visit India up to two times during that period.
Paytm's Latest Moves in Travel - India Report
18.07.2024 - 11:57 / skift.com / Bulbul Dhawan
Paytm started as a financial services company in India, but is now diversifying its revenue streams, with a special focus on travel. The fintech company often refers to itself as an online travel agency and is looking at travel as a core business segment.
In the latest move to enhance its travel offerings, Paytm has entered into a strategic partnership with German intercity bus services company FlixBus, which entered India in February this year.
Becoming an OTA? Officially, Paytm is still a “mobile payments and financial services distribution company,” with a mission to bring 500 million Indians to the mainstream economy using technology.
However, after its payments bank (which overlooked the payments wallet, customer accounts, and fixed deposits) was closed earlier this year by India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, the fintech player has been looking at alternative sources of revenue, with travel being one of them.
On the Paytm’s website, Paytm Travel is the first segment to appear, letting customers book flight, bus, or train tickets.
Paytm’s chief business officer Vikash Jalan stressed travel in his statement on the partnership with FlixBus: “As a leading travel aggregator, we are committed to enhancing the overall travel experience in India. Our partnership with FlixBus marks a significant step forward in this mission, directly aligning with our core business objectives to drive growth in the travel sector.”
Last month, Paytm announced its partnership with travel aggregators Skyscanner, Google Flights, and Wego. The move had followed a 19% annual increase in flight bookings on Paytm in the January-March quarter this year.
It recently added features such as guaranteed seat assistance to its train booking segment, and partnered with Samsung to offer flight and bus ticket bookings through Samsung wallet.
Its travel division has also brought on board three new airlines to its selection – Cambodia Angkor Air, SalamAir, and FlyDubai.
Importance of Paytm: Paytm played a crucial role in India’s digital economy, especially after the demonetization in November 2016, in which the Indian government discontinued the INR 500 and 1,000 cash notes to curb the issue of counterfeit currency. The move led to a boost in digital payments in India and Paytm got the first mover’s advantage in QR-based mobile payments using its payment wallet.
Paytm’s user base increased from about 140 million in October 2016 to 270 million a year later, reaching more remote parts of the country.
This user base of smaller towns in India makes Paytm a crucial player, giving it a slight advantage over other OTAs.
Online visa platform Atlys has seen a 60% surge in visa applications for France from Indian travelers ahead of
The website maxtravelz.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
Top Autors
Popular Topics
skift.com
06.08.2024 / 10:05
How Are Indians Traveling This Independence Day? - India Report
With Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan just a few days apart with a weekend in between, Indian travelers are looking to use this opportunity to vacation. Online travel agency Agoda has witnessed an increase of over 260% in travel searches from Indians compared to the same period last year.
travelandleisure.com
01.08.2024 / 18:28
Allegiant's Latest Fare Sale Has Flights to Las Vegas, Orlando, and More — Starting at Just $33
It’s always a good time to start planning a vacation, and one airline is rolling out deals to help keep the cost down.Allegiant Airlines, a low cost carrier based in Las Vegas, recently published dozens of new «Last Minute Flight Deals,» starting as low as $33. Best of all, the deals extend to popular vacation destinations such as Asheville, Destin, Nashville, Orlando, Tampa, and more Travelers can find the deals on Allegiant’s website, and even filter the options based on their home airport and budget per flight. The website also has a helpful map that shows routes from a home airport. The flight deals are valid on travel throughout August 2024, and available as supplies last. Travel + Leisure spotted a variety of additional one-way deals including:
skift.com
01.08.2024 / 16:18
India's Outbound Surge: Key Drivers Behind the Travel Boom
India’s outbound tourism market is expected to reach $55.4 billion by 2034, annual growth of over 11%, according to a new report by Indian commerce body FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry). The market is projected to reach $18.8 billion in 2024.
skift.com
01.08.2024 / 03:50
What's Driving Growth for India's Hotel Industry? – India Report
The hotel industry in India is estimated to reach around $247 billion in 2024, and projected to hit $475 billion by 2029, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. That’s an annual growth rate of nearly 14%.
thepointsguy.com
31.07.2024 / 12:39
Fans of long cruises will love Holland America's latest move
Get ready to go long with Holland America in the Mediterranean.
skift.com
31.07.2024 / 09:28
India Is Trying to Make Air Travel Affordable, But How?
The Indian government has advised airlines to self-regulate and exercise moderation in pricing air tickets, the civil aviation ministry has said. The move has come amid concerns over high airfares, especially during peak periods and festivals.
skift.com
30.07.2024 / 07:36
India’s Move to Make Payments Easier for International Visitors
India’s retail payments body National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched UPI One World wallet for international travelers visiting India.
skift.com
25.07.2024 / 03:31
Struggling SpiceJet to Raise $358 Million - India Report
Low-cost Indian carrier SpiceJet has secured its board’s approval to raise up to INR 30 billion ($358 million) through institutional investors, a move disclosed in a filing to the Indian stock exchange on Tuesday.
skift.com
24.07.2024 / 03:25
India’s Efforts to Boost Adventure Tourism — India Report
The Indian government is exploring adventure tourism as an avenue of promoting destinations across the country. For instance, earlier this month, the newly appointed minister of tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat went skydiving in Haryana on World Skydiving Day.
skift.com
23.07.2024 / 09:37
Spending by Foreign Tourists Soars, India’s Latest Economic Survey States - India Report
India’s foreign exchange earnings through tourism in 2023 was INR 2.3 trillion ($27.5 billion), according to the government’s latest Economic Survey for 2023-24 – a 66% gain over 2022.
skift.com
19.07.2024 / 10:53
Global IT Outage Grounds 1,000s of Flights: Latest Updates
Airlines around the world are grounding flights as a global IT outage impacts operations. Companies in the United States, UK, India, and Australia are among those badly affected.