Online hotel bookings in India are expected to jump two-fold by 2016 due to the increasing penetration of the internet and smart phones, according to a report.

According to the report, titled the Emergence of Online Travel Agents, by rating agency ICRA Ltd, around 8.4 million Indians are likely to book hotels online by 2016, up from 3.5 million in 2014.

“The deepening penetration of internet usage and smart phones in India has led to increased booking of hotels through online portals and applications in recent times,” said the report.

Travellers are increasingly using the internet to research and book flight tickets and hotel accommodation, swapping traditional travel agents for online travel agents, it added.

This is also expected to push the size of the Indian online hotel industry to $1.8 billion by next year from the current $0.8 billion.

At present online bookings account for 16% of the hotel booking and this is expected to grow to 25% by 2016.

At present, Makemytrip has a 47% share of the total online hotel booking market while the rest is shared Cleartrip, yatra.com and Goibibo, according to the report.