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Spiritual tourism has emerged as a growth driver for MakeMyTrip. While traditional pilgrimage hubs such as Varanasi, Tirupati, and Ayodhya remain strongholds, new spiritual destinations are gaining traction.
“Pilgrimage travel happens year-round. There’s no season for it,” MakeMyTrip Co-founder, Group CEO and Director, Rajesh Magow, said during an earnings call on Thursday.
To cater to this growing market, MakeMyTrip has introduced features for its accommodation booking platform designed to improve accessibility and convenience for travelers visiting spiritual hubs. These include wheelchair-friendly accommodations, proximity filters for religious sites, and vegetarian meal options.
The company’s homestays business has also seen substantial growth in pilgrimage cities, driven by increased supply in destinations like Varanasi and Ayodhya.
The Rise of ‘Live Tourism’
Magow also pointed to rising demand for tourism fueled by large-scale concerts and events – a phenomenon Skift calls “Live Tourism” and included as one of our Megatrends for 2025.
Citing the recent Coldplay concert in Mumbai, Magow said approximately 75% of attendees traveled from outside the city. “This presents a new demand use case for travel,” he added.
The trend extends beyond domestic borders, with MakeMyTrip recording high demand for international events, such as the Coldplay concert in Abu Dhabi.
The Boom in the Accommodation Sector
MakeMyTrip has also leveraged technology to enhance its offerings, expanding the capabilities of its AI-powered chatbot, “Myra,” to improve the booking experience for accommodations.
The platform’s efforts to increase property listings have paid off, enabling it to sell room nights across over 1,850 cities, compared to 1,750 during the same period last year — a spread that has more than doubled since pre-pandemic times, according to Magow.
New hotel openings have been concentrated in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with 120 branded hotels adding 8,000 rooms in the past ten months. Through this expansion the company is focusing on meeting the demands of emerging markets.
Magow commented on the broader strategy: “Our share of volume from [these trends] has historically been low. These are new opportunities, and we are making improvements to cater to these specific travel requirements in both B2B and B2C channels.”
India’s Rising Wanderlust
The foundation of MakeMytrip’s third quarter lies in the steady growth of India’s travel industry. Favorable macroeconomic factors such as rising disposable income and a shift in consumer behavior toward discretionary spending have played a pivotal role.
In the first half of 2024, 15 million Indian travelers abroad, marking a 14% year-on-year increase and a 12% rise compared to 2019, Magow said.
According to Visa’s recent survey, 62% of Indian consumers plan to increase their spending on leisure and travel, highlighting a growing appetite for exploring both domestic and international destinations.
Revenue for the third quarter reached $267.4 million, reflecting a 26% year-on-year growth. Adjusted operating profits hit a record high of $46 million, marking a 38% increase compared to the same period last year. Net profit for the quarter stood at $27.1 million, up from $24.2 million in the previous year.
The growth was fueled by investments in technology and improved customer experience, from user-friendly payment options to personalized property recommendations.
International bookings have also been growing at a faster pace — particularly in markets like Southeast Asia and the CIS region.
“Our international outbound business continues to grow at a faster pace for the third quarter, our international air ticketing revenue outpaced industry growth and our international hotel revenue grew by over 63% year-on-year, making this one of our fastest-growing business segments,” Magow said.
