Choice initiates on RateGain, TBO Tek and IRCTC; adds Ixigo to travel-platform coverage
Choice Institutional Equities sees India’s travel market benefiting from digital adoption and rising online penetration, initiating Buy ratings on RateGain, TBO Tek and IRCTC and an Add on Ixigo. Its targets are Rs 1,185, Rs 2,075, Rs 560 and Rs 190, respectively.
What happened
Choice Institutional Equities initiated coverage on RateGain, TBO Tek and IRCTC with Buy ratings and Ixigo with Add, citing India’s platform-led travel growth,
Key facts
- India travel and tourism economy: $263.6 billion in 2025
- Domestic travel share: 86% of tourism spending
- Expected online travel penetration: 46% by FY27E
- RateGain target price: Rs 1,185
- TBO Tek target price: Rs 2,075
- Ixigo target price: Rs 190
- IRCTC target price: Rs 560
Why this matters
The bullish coverage underscores strategic value in travel-platform assets, particularly businesses with scalable B2B distribution, booking technology and online customer acquisition capabilities.
What to watch
- Quarterly gross booking value, transaction growth and take-rate trends for Ixigo, TBO Tek and IRCTC.
- RateGain subscription growth, net revenue retention, new enterprise wins and operating-margin trajectory.
- Online travel penetration data relative to the projected 46% by FY27E.
- Hotel room supply, domestic air-passenger growth, airfare trends and outbound travel demand.
- Marketing spend as a percentage of revenue and evidence of discounting among OTAs.
- IRCTC policy announcements affecting ticketing convenience fees, exclusivity, rail booking rules or catering economics.
- Foreign-exchange movements and international travel demand, particularly for TBO Tek's overseas business.
- Travel platforms are likely to emphasize app-led customer acquisition, loyalty programs and cross-selling of hotels, buses, insurance and ancillary services to capture rising online penetration.
- TBO Tek may accelerate supplier onboarding and geographic expansion to defend B2B distribution scale, while RateGain could pursue deeper integrations with hotel chains, airlines and intermediaries.
- Ixigo is likely to prioritize rail, bus and multimodal conversion funnels, using its large user base to raise booking frequency and ancillary revenue.
- IRCTC may seek incremental monetization through tourism packages, catering, advertising and non-rail travel offerings, though policy constraints remain material.
- Peer brokerages may refresh travel-tech estimates and compare companies on booking growth, contribution margins, repeat rates and customer-acquisition costs rather than headline revenue alone.