MUMBAI: Global hotel/room bookings app Airbnb’s operations contributed Rs 11,300 crore to India's GDP in 2024, while helped support people in as many as 1,11,000 jobs who earned Rs 2,400 crore in wages, according to a report by Oxford Economics.
In 2024, domestic travellers comprised 91% of Airbnb guests in the country, helping it triple the non-urban gross booking value since 2019, reflecting growing interest in rural destinations, the Oxford Economics report, commissioned by Airbnb, said Monday. Among international guests, the largest inbound sources were the US, England, Canada and Australia.
Airbnb activity contributed Rs 11,300 crore to the economy in 2024 and also supported as many as 1,11,000 jobs while contributing Rs 2.400 crore in wages, Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb India country head said, adding this translates into 0.5% of the country’s travel and tourism GDP and 0.2% of tourism-related jobs, which is equivalent to one in every 417 tourism-related jobs.
In the reporting year, Airbnb guests spent Rs 11,200 crore in the country, which includes both accommodation and non-accommodation expenses. Guests stayed an average of two nights and spent Rs 11,000 daily on non-accommodation essentials like dining, retail stores and transport. Of every Rs 10,000 spent in-destination, Rs 3,800 was spent on restaurants; Rs 2,400 on transport, Rs 2,100 on shopping, Rs 900 on arts and entertainment, and Rs 800 on groceries, the report said.
Beyond front-line tourism sectors, Airbnb-generated activity contributed Rs 3,100 crore in transport and storage, Rs 1,500 crore in agriculture, Rs 1,300 crore in real estate and Rs 1,200 crore in manufacturing, the report said extrapolating the numbers.
Airbnb-supported tourism helped support around 38,000 jobs in transport and storage, 19,600 in food and beverage services, 16,800 in wholesale and retail trade, and 10,700 in manufacturing.
These roles translated into tangible wage benefits, with the platform activity contributing around Rs 8,10 crore in transport and storage wages, Rs 290 crore in manufacturing wages, and Rs 26 crore in real estate sector wages.
While the non-urban share of gross booking value was 16% in 2024, total non-urban gross booking value tripled since 2019, demonstrating growing traveller interest in rural and lesser-known destinations, outside the major cities, said James Lambert, a director of economic consulting for Asia at Oxford Economics.
Born in 2007 when just two hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, Airbnb has since grown to over 5 million hosts who have welcomed over 2 billion guests in almost every country across the globe.
Oxford Economics was founded in 1981 as a commercial venture with the University of Oxford’s business college to provide economic forecasting and modelling to British companies and financial institutions expanding abroad. Since then, it has been providing reports, forecasts and analytical tools on over 200 countries, 100 industries, and 8,000 cities and regions.