A new research states Airbnb contributes over `72 billion to the country’s GDP
New research from Oxford Economics found Airbnb is an important pillar of India’s tourism industry, contributing over USD 920 million (`72 billion) to Gross Domestic Product and supporting over 85,000 Indian jobs in 2022 alone.
The GDP contribution and jobs supported in India has more than doubled since 2019 despite the Covid-19 outbreak and international border restrictions. The report also highlighted the powerful multiplier effect Airbnb guest spending has within local communities. In 2022, Airbnb guests spent a total of USD 815 million (`64 billion) in India in areas like purchases on transportation, restaurants, and retail stores. The guests spent in 2022 more than doubled the 2019 levels.
In India, Airbnb’s presence was the highest in Goa, where its guests’ spending amounted to almost USD 190 million (`14.8 billion), this was followed by Bengaluru and Delhi, Mumbai and Manali. It details the significant contribution made by Airbnb guests to domestic tourism across the nation.
In 2022, domestic Airbnb guest spending totalled USD 670 million (`52.6 billion), and accounted for approximately 82 per cent of total Airbnb guest spend in India, around a three-fold increase from 2019.
The report also explores two profound changes in travel behaviour since the pandemic — the dispersal of tourism away from urban areas, and long-term stays driven by the emergence of flexible work arrangements.
James Lambert, Director for Economic Consulting in Asia for Oxford Economics said, Airbnb has clearly played a major role in the resilience and rebirth of the Indian travel and tourism sector in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Airbnb has been at the heart of some of the trends reshaping the nation’s travel and tourism industry, including the shift in travel away from cities and towards more rural communities, and the increase in demand for long-stay trips, exemplified by the live and work anywhere phenomenon,” Lambert said.
“Domestic travellers have been crucial to the tourism sector’s resilience over the past three years as Indian guests saw opportunities in domestic travel as a substitute for international holidays, with self-drive and regional trips increasing in popularity, which led to a wider dispersion of tourism spend outside the traditional or ‘popular’ destinations in India.”
Amanpreet Bajaj, Airbnb’s general manager for India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan said, “The economic contribution to both GDP and jobs driven by travel on Airbnb in India has created powerful economic ripple effects that have enabled the growth of local businesses, such as shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes — which are often central to how travellers experience a destination — and created job opportunities for the locals.”
This report explores the 12 months to March 2023 — representing a year since travel restrictions started to be removed across India.