A few years ago, very few people had the knowledge or confidence in online travel bookings in India, not to mention the weak infrastructure that supported it. The last few years have seen a tremendous shift in the way people view online bookings - the success of the Indian Railways and some airlines in this field has greatly boosted the confidence of the average consumer, and online travel booking technology is becoming more and more sophisticated and targeted to the Indian traveller.

Some of the major hurdles a few years ago still pose a significant problem though, i.e. low credit card and internet penetration plus the number of SME's and family businesses that constitute the bulk of the active economy.

Still, a sevenfold increase in online travel spending is forecasted by PhoCusWright in the next couple of years...and this is cause for celebration and a pat on the back - the 'elephant' is fast becoming the 'e'-tiger!

"A new report by PhoCusWright, "The Emerging Online Travel Marketplace in India," estimates that online leisure/unmanaged business travel gross bookings in India totaled $295 million in 2005 and will grow nearly sevenfold in just three years to go beyond $2.0 billion by 2008."

Read the eMarketer report by Jeffrey Grau here eMarketer.com - Online Travel Takes Off in India

tags: business, travel, india, online-travel, ecommerce, travel-bookings, ebusiness, phocuswright, jeffrey-grau