Millions of travellers choose their favourites on India’s largest travel community portal
HolidayIQ, India’s largest online travel community and information portal announced the best in Indian travel and tourism at The Better Holiday Awards, 2017 last evening. These annual tourism awards have been established to celebrate the sheer beauty in diversity that India offers and equally importantly acknowledges the role of the Indian traveller that is driving Indian tourism like never before.
The award ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries including Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Mr. Arun Nanda, Chairman & Founder, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. and Mr. Priyank Kharge, the Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) Tourism & Information Technology, Government of Karnataka, & Mr. Umang Bedi, Managing Director, Facebook (India & South Asia).
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Hari Nair, Founder & CEO, HolidayIQ said “The Better Holiday Awards are the most credible awards in Indian tourism simply because they represent the authentic voice of the Indian traveller. All the winners are chosen purely on the basis of Ratings & Reviews shared by the millions of Indian travellers on the HolidayIQ.com platform. The Better Holiday Awards are an acknowledgement of the best in Indian tourism products & services; the winners being those who have been able to not just meet but exceed the expectations of a very large number of Indian travellers.”
Mr. Nair added, “The Indian traveller today is not just discovering India more than ever before, but is also sharing detailed advice through text & video reviews – using technology to enable fellow travellers to have better holidays. We are happy to be part of this journey where a whole new identity and community is in the making – ‘The Indian Traveller’ is both a badge of pride and a movement to help others discover the best in India.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Arun Nanda, Chairman and Founder, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. said, “I am delighted to receive this award as it is a tribute to our team who have continuously created ‘magical moments’ for over 211,000 member families who holiday at our 46+ resorts. I congratulate the Holiday IQ team for creating such a wonderful platform which helps holidayers in making informed travel choices based on experience sharing.”
The HolidayIQ –‘Better Holiday Awards’ have multiple categories that include the old and the new, an indication of changing travel trends. Homestays find their place along with Heritage Hotels and Adventure Tourism alongside Jungle Camps. In addition, the Better Holiday Awards recognise the best Indian tourism services in Airlines, Airports, Bus Operators, Railway Stations, making this the most comprehensive Tourism awards for India.
The Awards are critical at a time when India seeks its place on the global tourism map. Increased domestic tourism indicates a higher level of trust and acceptance of what Indian travel and tourism has to offer. For travellers, it is a wonderful opportunity to set new expectation benchmarks for service standards, be it in the hotels they stay at or the destinations that they visit and recommend. Tourism Businesses will have to exceed these expectations if they are to cater to a population that is aware, discerning and most importantly not hesitant to share feedback.
Start with the real traveler’s community first-Lets Talk
For an India that is increasingly focusing on work-life balance, reviews enable them to Holiday better by giving them a range of options and trusted reviews to make a better choice and enjoy their holidays.
Over twelve million travellers logging in every month through the site and the app makes HolidayIQ India’s largest travel community. The portal which places great emphasis on innovation, differentiates itself with frequently held offline traveller community meets and global firsts like video reviews. HolidayIQ’s traveller reviews & content now reach millions of additional Indians by powering many 3rd party websites & apps including MakeMyTrip, JustDial, trivago, MSN and Daily Hunt.
List of Winners
| Award Title |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE SEA-SIDE DESTINATION HAVELOCK ISLAND, ANDAMAN & NICOBAR |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE CITY VISAKHAPATNAM, ANDHRA PRADESH |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE SPIRITUAL ATTRACTION KAMAKHYA TEMPLE, GUWAHATI, ASSAM |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE WILDLIFE DESTINATION SASAN GIR, GUJARAT |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE URBAN ATTRACTION KINGDOM OF DREAMS, GURGAON, HARYANA |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE ADVENTURE ATTRACTION GULMARG GONDOLA, GULMARG, JAMMU & KASHMIR |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE BEACH GOKARNA, KARNATAKA |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE WATERFRONT DESTINATION ALAPPUZHA, KERALA |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE WATERFALL RANEH FALLS, MADHYA PRADESH |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE HILL ATTRACTION SHILLONG PEAK, SHILLONG, MEGHALAYA |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE HERITAGE DESTINATION KONARK, ODISHA |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE PILGRIMAGE DESTINATION AMRITSAR, PUNJAB |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE NATURAL ATTRACTION PICHOLA LAKE, UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE HILL STATION GANGTOK, SIKKIM |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE DESTINATION FOR ADVENTURE SPORTS RISHIKESH, UTTARAKHAND |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE HISTORICAL ATTRACTION VICTORIA MEMORIAL, KOLKATA, WEST BENGAL |
| INDIA’S MOST POPULAR STATE FOR HOLIDAYS MAHARASHTRA |
| INDIA’S BEST STATE FOR TOURISM GOA |
| INDIA’S EMERGING STATE FOR TOURISM CHHATTISGARH |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE BUDGET AIRLINE FOR HOLIDAYS INDIGO AIRLINES |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE FULL SERVICE AIRLINE FOR HOLIDAYS JET AIRWAYS |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE AIRPORT FOR HOLIDAYS KEMPEGOWDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT LIMITED (KIAL), BENGALURU |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE RESORT CHAIN MAHINDRA HOLIDAYS & RESORTS INDIA LTD CLUB MAHINDRA RESORTS |
| INDIA’S FAVOURITE HOTEL CHAIN LEMON TREE HOTELS |
| INDIA’S MOST PROMISING HOTEL NETWORK OYO |
About HolidayIQ:
HolidayIQ is India’s largest travel community with 12 million travellers across 220+ cities and is also the first holiday planning website in India powered entirely by reviews, photos, videos and other advice generated from these travellers. More than 70% of all vacations planned on HolidayIQ are through mobile devices. HolidayIQ.com is a VC-backed company, invested in by Tiger Global, Accel Partners and Makemytrip.com operationally headquartered in Bangalore, India. HolidayIQ.com lists over 5000 tourism destinations & 75,000+ accommodation options (hotels, resorts, home-stays, jungle camps & serviced apartments) in India. All of which are bookable through over 1600 partnerships with leading online travel agencies like Makemytrip, Yatra and Expedia & offline players such as Thomas Cook, SOTC, etc.
