Coldplay Fever Sparks Ahmedabad Hotel Price Surge as Music Tourism Booms — India Report

Skift Take

Indians are combining their love for music with their desire to travel. And they are willing to spend as hotel rates, airfares, and concert ticket prices surge.

Bulbul Dhawan

Last week Coldplay announced an additional India show in Ahmedabad on January 25. Following the announcement, online travel agency Agoda said it witnessed a 47% surge in domestic searches for accommodation in Ahmedabad for that period compared to the previous week’s average. International searches spiked by 18%.

Coldplay will also be playing at three concerts in Mumbai. 

Surge in Hotel Prices: Online search data reveals that Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad is charging up to INR 150,000 (about $1,775) for a two-night stay during the concert dates. A week later, the price drops to INR 32,400 (around $380) for two nights.

ITC Narmada, typically priced at INR 33,000 ($390) for a two-night stay a week after Coldplay’s concert, is charging INR 125,000 ($1,480) for the same duration from January 24 to 26. According to the hotel website, only one room is available at this price for these dates.

Mumbai had also experienced a spike in hotel rates after Coldplay’s initial announcement. In Mumbai, hotel prices near the DY Patil Stadium surged to INR 640,000 ($7,600) for three nights. 

Skift had earlier reported about the rise of music tourism in India. The country has had back-to-back sold out concerts, from Bryan Adams to Diljit Dosanjh. Music festivals like Lollapalooza also witnessed rapid selling out of tickets as Indians are traveling from all over the country to attend these events. In fact, Indians are also traveling outside the country to watch their favorite performers live.

In Line With International Travel: Indians are not the only ones traveling for music events. The trend has been observed across the globe. A look at Coldplay’s website shows that its upcoming shows across the globe are sold out.

In an earlier feature, Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit had quoted Los Angeles Tourism CEO Adam Burke saying that one stop of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour brought $320 million in incremental business sales, 3,300 jobs and an additional $160 million in local wages. Skift has estimated the tour generated an incremental $1.2 billion for the U.S. travel industry in 2023 across flights, hotels, short-term rentals and other additional expenditure.

MakeMyTrip’s Bid to Strengthen Corporate Travel Biz

Online travel company MakeMyTrip has acquired expense management platform Happay from Indian fintech company CRED. With this, the OTA is expected to strengthen its presence in the corporate travel segment.

Happay’s team would “continue to seamlessly support the existing client base while working in close partnership with MakeMyTrip’s corporate travel services team,” MakeMyTrip said in a statement.

Founded in 2012, Happay provides travel and expense management software for corporates. In May 2023, the company underwent a restructuring that led to an almost 35% reduction in its workforce. It also recently expanded its offerings by launching a B2B payments solution on Bharat Connect, developed in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India, an Indian public sector company that operates retail payments and settlement systems in the country.

A Look at Goa’s Tourism Drop

Goa is not getting enough foreign tourists. Official Goa Tourism figures show that foreign arrivals in 2023 weren’t even half of 2019 levels: Just 450,000 visitors versus 937,000.

“Russians and Brits who used to visit annually have opted for Sri Lanka instead,” said Indian legal entrepreneur Ramanuj Mukherjee on X recently. Mukherjee also referenced the “exploitation of tourists” and said even Indian tourists would soon “ditch” Goa in favor of cheaper destinations. 

The biggest complaint was around taxis. Goa had banned Uber and India-based cab aggregator Ola after pressure from local taxi operators. Tourists complained of being charged exorbitant rates by cab drivers.

And competition for visitors is only getting tougher. “Southeast Asian destinations are wooing Indian travelers aggressively. These places have good flight connectivity and in some ways, some destinations are better value for money,” said Jack Sukhija, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG).

Marriott Partners With Samhi Hotels to Open 3 Properties

Marriott International has signed an agreement with Samhi Hotels to develop three new properties in India. Collectively, these properties will have more than 560 rooms. The three properties will be in Hyderabad and Bengaluru under the W, Tribute Portfolio, and The Westin brands. 

The hotels are scheduled to open between 2026 and 2028. Marriott has over 150 operating hotels in the country across 17 branches. Rajeev Menon, president, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International, said that the company is focusing on strengthening its presence in India to meet the demand for leisure as well as business travel. 

Data We Love: Indians Traveling to U.S.

Indian travelers to the U.S. in the first 10 months of 2024 have already surpassed the total for 2023. Between January and October this year, close to 1.9 million Indians visited the U.S., a 27% year-on-year increase. 

This has also surpassed the number of visitors from India on record, as per the data from the U.S. International Trade Administration. Data for 2000-2023 shows that before the pandemic, Indians had reached a peak of 1.47 million visitors to the U.S. After Covid, the recovery of Indian tourists to the country took place in 2023 with 1.76 million visitors. 2024 is set to be a record year in terms of Indian arrivals to the U.S.

Tourism Australia Signs 3-Year Agreement With Air India

Tourism Australia and full-service airline Air India have entered into a three-year marketing agreement. Under the agreement, Tourism Australia and Air India will aim to jointly undertake marketing activities to drive visitor movement from India to Australia. 

“As one of Australia’s valuable tourism markets, India holds immense promise. We aim to sustain growth in visitor numbers from India to Australia while enhancing travel experiences and connectivity between the two countries,” said Andrew Hogg, Tourism Australia’s executive general manager of eastern markets and aviation.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said that the airline is looking to bolster its presence in Australia. Currently, Air India operates 17 weekly non-stop flights to Australia. 

IHG to Bring InterContinental Brand to Kodaikanal 

IHG Hotels and Resorts has signed a 100-key resort in Kodaikanal to debut the InterContinental brand in the city. The InterContinental Kodaikanal Resort is scheduled to open in 2028 and is a part of the group’s expansion plan focusing on growing lifestyle and luxury brands in leisure destinations across India. 

The hospitality chain has 46 operational hotels in India across five brands. It also has a pipeline of nearly 60 hotels that are expected to open in the next 3 to 5 years.