Friday, March 22, 2024
The Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), headquartered in the UAE and celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, showcased the immense tourism potential of the Indian market at the inaugural Skift India Summit held at The Leela Ambience Gurugram earlier this week.
Organized by GHA and its key hotel brand in India, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, the summit convened industry leaders and innovators to explore emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in a market poised to generate 80 million international trips annually by 2040.
GHA’s remarkable performance in India underscores the industry’s significant growth trajectory. In 2023, revenue from its 13 Indian hotels under three brands (Leela, Araiya, and Oaks) reached a record $68 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of $65 million in 2019. Additionally, the number of GHA DISCOVERY members in India exceeded half a million (540,000), marking a 21% increase from 2022. Indian members also spent a record $60 million at GHA hotels both domestically and internationally, a 46% year-on-year increase, surpassing the 2019 total of $41 million.
Domestic travel accounted for 51% of travel revenue in India in 2023, while international travel saw a robust rebound, surpassing the 2019 ratio. The US, UK, and Australia emerged as the top source markets for inbound travel. Among Indian GHA DISCOVERY members, preferred outbound destinations included Singapore, Thailand, and the UAE.
“With India one of the world’s fastest-growing domestic and international travel markets, as reflected in our 2023 results, the first Skift India Summit presented a timely opportunity for GHA and our long-term partner of 17 years, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts, to highlight the untold potential for expansion, from elevating GHA DISCOVERY membership among residents to boosting awareness of our growing India portfolio – this year increasing to 14 hotels across four brands – to our 26 million global loyalty members,” said GHA CEO Chris Hartley.
“Our research, delving into the travel preferences and behaviours of our members, reveals some insightful inbound and outbound travel patterns and shines a spotlight on opportunities to educate GHA DISCOVERY members in India about the unique benefits of our loyalty programme, including ways in which they can earn and redeem our rewards currency, DISCOVERY Dollars (D$). With D$1 equal to US$1, we are effectively putting cash into travellers’ pockets, encouraging them to spend at our hotels in India and with other global brands.”
In addition to the revenue gains observed in the Indian market in 2023, GHA research also uncovered the following insights:
“These Indian market trends, coupled with growing appetite to visit India from GHA DISCOVERY’s 26-million-strong global membership, present immense opportunities for our portfolio of hotels, which not only offer luxury accommodation, but the destination experiences that today’s travellers seek, from adventure, to cuisine, to nature,” said Anuraag Bhatnagar, Chief Executive Officer, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts.
“The Skift India Summit provided a platform to share our knowledge with key industry players to further amplify domestic and international tourism and its socio-economic contribution as we plan for future growth.”
India’s hotel sector is experiencing significant growth, with projections from the Hotel Association of India indicating a contribution of $1.5 trillion to the country’s economy by 2047, a substantial increase from $65 billion in 2022. GHA (Global Hotel Alliance) is strategically planning to expand its hotel portfolio in India, engaging in discussions with various hotel brands to offer a wider array of destinations and segments for GHA DISCOVERY members. Among the upcoming additions is the debut of Anantara Hotels & Resorts in North India with the opening of Anantara Jaipur Hotel later this year.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, GHA has witnessed remarkable expansion, now representing a diverse collection of 40 brands with over 800 hotels in 100 countries. The GHA DISCOVERY loyalty program, launched in 2010 and boasting 26 million members, contributed $2.3 billion in revenue and facilitated 10 million room nights in 2023 alone. Recent milestones include the revamp of GHA DISCOVERY in 2021, introducing DISCOVERY Dollars (D$), the addition of NH Hotel Group to the alliance in 2022, enriching the GHA offering with 350 properties in 30 countries across three brands, and the introduction of the Green Collection in 2023, empowering members to make sustainable travel choices.
Furthermore, GHA has broadened its loyalty offerings through strategic partnerships, collaborating with ultra-luxury cruise line Regent Seven Seas Cruises in 2023 to provide cruisers with D$ and elite status benefits, and joining forces with vacation rental platform Plum Guide in March of this year, offering rewards to members who book from their selection of 38,000 exceptional vacation homes.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Saturday, April 27, 2024
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