Increasing number of Indians have been searching travel products on Google, as per the latest report released by Google – Brand Zeitgeist 2010. According to the findings of the report, 'travel' has been the third most searched vertical followed by telecom, finance industry, automobiles and education sector in 2009. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) website (irctc.co.in) has been in the 'Top 10' most searched brand in the travel category in 2009.
Divulging further details of the report, Narasimha Jayakumar, Business Head, Google India informed that search for travel products on Google have increased by 74.5 per cent in 2009 as compared to 2008. He informed that under the travel category, IRCTC has been the most searched travel booking website in India followed by Jet Airways, Makemytrip.com, Kingfisher Airlines and IndiGo Airways.
Providing specific details on each segment of the travel verticals, Jayakumar said, "Under the tour operators segment, Kesari tops the list, followed by Raj Travels, Thomas Cook India Ltd and Kuoni- SOTC. Under the hotels segment, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces tops the list followed by Club Mahindra Resorts, Ginger Hotels, Keys Hotels and ITC-Welcome hotels. Under the air travel segment, Jet Airways tops the list followed by Makemytrip.com, Kingfisher Airlines, IndiGo Airways and Cleartrip.com."
Talking about the hotel segment, Jayakumar informed that hotels based in metro cities were more searched as compared to vacation destinations in India. He said, "Hotels based in metro cities offer services for both business and leisure travellers whereas vacation destination hotels can only attract leisure travellers. Air travel is now an established product on the online platform whereas hotel product is still building its place. Presently, the Site Conversational Rate (SCR) for hotels is less than one per cent but looking at the growing demand, this can increase to 1.5-two per cent in the next one year."
Mentioning about growth prospects of the Indian travel sector, Jayakumar said, "This is the first time that any travel product has made it to 'Top 20' search products on Google. The rising number of travel suppliers in India with unique products and services will further fuel the growth of the travel industry. Google is bullish about the global travel industry, particularly India as travel is the biggest e-commerce segment in the country. We intend to further fuel the growth of Indian travel sector by enhancing the user experience."
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