Airbnb eyes India after govt shows interest

NEW DELHI: Home-sharing platform Airbnb has positioned India as one of the fastest growing markets with over half a million users since last year. Co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk on his visit to the country is expecting the government to introduce progressive rules to encourage home sharing.

“In April, the Indian tourism ministry indicated it would be reviewing the current laws and regulations in regards to home sharing to make it easier for people to have the chance to experience Indian hospitality,” according to a statement.


Airbnb claims to have hosted 80 million plus guests since the company was founded in 2008 and has over two million listings in more than 190 countries.

"India has seen tremendous growth in the last one year. About 17,000 properties are now listed in India and we saw 115% growth in listing in 2015 from the previous year. In terms of travellers (bookings), there has been 185% increase in travellers from India and 184 per cent increase in bookings in India (in-bound) from last year," Airbnb cofounder and CTO Nathan Blecharczyk told PTI.

The travel market in India is estimated to grow over $40 billion by 2020. In the Asia-Pacific, Airbnb saw a staggering 370 per cent jump in bookings.


“This is a new concept and countries all over the world are embracing home-sharing. India will be an important part of the growth story for us," Blecharczyk said.
(With inputs from PTI.)