Sells tickets and rooms on behalf of airlines, Indian Railways, bus operators and hotels, earning a commission or convenience fee per booking plus ads and add-ons (insurance, free cancellation). IRCTC is the only online seller of railway tickets; others such as ixigo sell rail tickets as its authorised partners.
Why it matters
Travel is a big, frequent online category in India, and the economics are asset-light. Trains give mass reach (ixigo is the largest rail-booking partner), flights and hotels give margin, and corporate travel (Yatra) gives sticky B2B revenue.
Where the value pool sits
Take rates are low on flights (a few % of ticket value) and higher on hotels and holidays (10-20%). ixigo's gross transaction value grew ~22% in Q2 FY27, led by flights (+37%) and hotels. MakeMyTrip dominates hotels and holidays but is listed only on Nasdaq.
Key drivers
Rising air travel and new airports
Hotel and holiday mix shift toward higher-commission products
Gen-Z and tier-2 travellers booking on mobile
Corporate travel growth for B2B specialists
Potential bottlenecks
Airline consolidation (IndiGo and Air India hold most seats) squeezes agent commissions
IRCTC controls rail inventory and convenience fees
Hotel supply is fragmented and Google and the airlines' own apps compete for the traffic