According to management consulting firm Praxis Global, the online travel market in India, led by flight and hotel aggregators, is expected to touch $13.6 billion by 2021 and will account for almost 43% of the total travel category in the country. The rise of a good number of travel startups explains that.
The report further states that most of the growth would come from the increasing penetration of international flight and hotel bookings made through online portals such as Cleartrip, MakeMyTrip, and Yatra. According to Madhur Singhal, managing director of Praxis Global Alliance, combined packages of flight and hotel bookings are a huge hit among Indian consumers.
Praxis said in its report that the number of hotel rooms booked in India, both online and offline, touched 11.4 million in 2016, while the number of flights stood at 99.9 million.
Increased in user demand continues to be a major contributing factor as Indian consumers are expected to devote almost 4% of their wallet spends on travel, in the next decade.
According to Kapil Goswamy, CMD, Bigbreaks.com (a tours and travel dedicated portal), the Indian travel industry is set to grow from $33 billion in 2015 to $56 billion by 2020. Let us take a look at the top 10 travel startups in India.
Top 10 travel startups in India
Tripoto:
This Delhi-based start-up, founded by Anirudh Gupta and Michael Lyngdoh believes in the principle of sharing travel-related information. The online travel portal allows users to create itineraries for their upcoming trips can share it with other travelers.
They may share travel experiences, related content and pictures, itineraries, maps, and reviews. Tripoto, ranked among the top 10 travel startups in India, it connects travelers from around the world to share and discover travel destinations, especially the newer and lesser traveled parts.
SeekSherpa:
Sukhmani Singh and Dhruv Raj Gupta, founded SeekSherpa in 2014. The couple learned about the importance of researching well in advance before traveling, from varied their travel experiences.
The research is better if you get it from a local resident. It is here that SeekSherpa differs from other travel portals. It connects you with the local people in the city you are heading to.
These “sherpas” are chosen after a thorough background check and offer numerous itineraries (popularly referred to as “micro tours”) from sightseeing, photography tours to heritage walks and food walks to explore a location from the eyes of a local guide, aka Sherpa.
A niche offering, SeekSherpa, caters to the specific needs of travelers who love to mingle with local folk, without a qualm. It surely ranks among the top 10 travel startups in India, for its unique concept (much western, yet Indianized beautifully). 
goMowgli:
Taken from the iconic character of Mowgli (Jungle Book), the travel start-up works in the concept of hop-off the buses, as you travel. An immensely popular concept in the West, goMowgli allows travelers to get down from a bus, and take another bus.
This works best for backpackers or solo travelers, who want to travel without a fixed plan or do not want to get into the glitches of advanced reservations. The travel start-up goMowgli has a fleet of buses across different states in India. Commuters can buy a pass for a fixed number of days (for instance 7 days or 21 days).
All you have to do is to switch on the GPS feature on your mobile or any hand-held device, and goMowgli will tell you the exact location of the nearest bus. Fast growing in popularity, it may well be counted among the top 10 travel startups in India.
Oyo Rooms:
Founded by 21-year-old Ritesh Agarwal, Oyo Rooms, has almost become a household name. The Indian travel startup works in liaison with existing hotels and offers vacant rooms for a cheaper price to their customers.
Oyo has also invested in their own properties which start at a nominal price of ₹999. Another segment called Oyo Premium caters to those that want a more-than-basic experience.
The primary reason Oyo Room properties are so hot is that all properties are located in the city primes thus ensuring that you are always close to the best sightseeing and dining options.
Thrillophilia:
Thrillophilia, a Bengaluru-based start-up, founded in 2009, is an online travel marketplace where travelers can discover, compare and book from more than 2500 tours and activities from around 1000 suppliers. What more, travelers can curate the best tours and genuine suppliers.
The best part about Thrillophilia is that it provides handpicked adventure travel options, especially for off-the-beaten-track packages for sight-seeing, sports, and adventure activities, that include activities like white water rafting, snorkeling, bungee jumping and skydiving.
Nearify:
Founded in 2012, the Nearify app is great for travelers new to the city (such as people traveling for business or medical purpose).
Ranked among the top 10 travel startups in India, Nearify provides users with updated information on the city, major tourist attractions, and events happening around them.
The user just needs to key in the name of the city to find listings of meet-ups, workshops, music concerts and cultural hangout zones in their close vicinity.
Travel Triangle:
Travel Triangle, an initiative by Holiday Triangle Travel Pvt. Ltd, is an online platform that offers personalized and best suitable travel packages to travelers across the world.
With a strong network of more than 450 local travel agents spanning over 15+ countries, Travel Triangle, has a secured place among the top 10 travel startups in India.
It offers customized packages for travelers. A full-fledged online marketplace, Travel Triangle allows customers to connect with various local travel agents, get quotations, and even customize their trips and book travel destinations and packages.
Routofy:
Routofy, an online travel portal, has been created on the philosophy of providing users with a unique and visionary travel experience. It combines flights, trains, buses & cabs to provide users a coordinated travel itinerary for their journey.
Ranked among the top 10 travel startups in India, Routofy’s route-planning services allow people to know ‘how to reach’ any desired destination and choose a suitable route based on price, duration of journey & availability.
The Routofy app allows users to plan and book door-to-door travel in one go. Furthermore, Routofy accompanies travelers on their journey through its unique travel assistance feature, which includes a host of unique facilities such as last-minute cab bookings, web check-in, and transport delay information.
Routofy ensures that if your flight is running late, a subsequent cab booking is adjusted to meet you at the new arrival time.
iTraveller:
iTraveller, started in 2011 by Shiju Radhakrishnan along with Sanjay Kumar, Chitra Parija and Nisanth Kumar, is an online travel platform for travelers to explore travel destinations, plan and book their trips in advance.
The Bengaluru-based Indian travel startup receives inquiries from clients, allows them to dynamically create self-serviced customized travel packages.
The users can compare reviews and plan their activities and sightseeing for their trips. Furthermore, iTraveller involves native wholesale suppliers who are responsible for the operational aspects of the business that includes ground handling and fulfillment.
More than 2 lakh trips have been created by users on iTraveller, featuring over 20 travel destinations across the globe and 60+ native wholesale suppliers from across these destinations.
Stayzilla:
This premium online travel portal founded by Yogendra Vasupal provides information on stays across India, for all groups of travelers. This includes all sorts of options from ultra-low-budget rooms to luxury stays. Currently, Stayzilla has more than 17000 options spread across more than 1100 cities.
With a capable market research team that studies traveling trends in India, churns out accommodation options even in the remotest corners.
With a strong network of 17,000 hotels, home stays, and guest houses in more than 1200 cities offering rooms in the budget from 250 per night to 60, 000 per night, Stayzilla is working its way to the top.
Add to want to add more to the list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
