Digital
Agoda reveals new horizons list for India’s travel landscape
Mumbai: As the new year kicks off, digital travel platform Agoda, has revealed the top five emerging destinations in India in its “New Horizons List”. The year-on-year search data has highlighted the destinations that have marked growth in traveller interest.
Ahmedabad led the way, followed by Kodaikanal, Mahabaleshwar, Ooty, and Kochi. These cities reflect a growing interest among Indians to experience local culture and heritage and are increasingly inclined towards picturesque locales.
| INDIA | |
| Destination | per cent increase in searches |
| Ahmedabad | 44 per cent |
| Kodaikanal | 35 per cent |
| Mahabaleshwar | 22 per cent |
| Ooty | 21 per cent |
| Kochi | 19 per cent |
Ahmedabad, the financial capital of Gujarat, has claimed the top spot with a notable 44 per cent increase in searches year-on-year. It is home to the Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue and also boasts of a rich cultural and culinary heritage. Ahmedabad has grown in popularity among Indian travellers, and this year it further grew owing to the city being the host of a major sports event, the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
Picturesque nature destinations dominate the New Horizons list, with Kodaikanal experiencing a 35 per cent increase and hill stations Mahabaleshwar and Ooty, rising by 22 per cent and 21 per cent respectively. Kodaikanal’s unspoiled natural beauty and serene ambience has experienced a notable uptick in interest and Mahabaleshwar and Ooty are also capturing attention for their distinct attractions, ranging from Mahabaleshwar’s sweeping hill vistas to Ooty’s captivating colonial-era ambiance and tea plantations.
At number five on the New Horizons List is Kochi, a vibrant port city in Kerala, which witnessed a 19 per cent increase in searches. The state has been a hotspot for Indians, and Kochi is where history and modernity seamlessly converge. It remains a favourite among travellers for its remarkable Dutch and Portuguese architecture, food and spice markets, and traditional cultural experiences.
Country director India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives Agoda Krishna Rathi, shared, “2023 has proven to be a great year for travel in India. Agoda’s Year-on-Year search data highlighted growth across domestic, inbound, and outbound travel. The New Horizons list features quite a few hill stations and some bustling cities with a mix of food, culture, and interesting activities. As the new year begins, we are excited to see the trends that will shape the preferences of Indian travellers.”
Agoda’s platform, which offers over 3.9 million holiday properties, along with flights and activities, provides travellers with the convenience of planning and booking a comprehensive adventure. These emerging destinations present an exciting opportunity for travellers to discover new facets of India.
Disclaimer – The data is based on year-on-year comparisons of searches made on Agoda in November 2022 and 2023.
Digital
Global piracy networks evolve into multibillion-dollar crime syndicates
From bootleg DVDs to drug cartels, the new faces of organised crime are hiding in plain sight
LONDON: Gone are the days of the local “dodgy DVD” man at the car boot sale. According to a landmark investigation by Digital Citizens Alliance and IP House, the world of digital piracy has undergone a chilling transformation into a sophisticated, multibillion-dollar ecosystem of organised crime. Far from being a victimless hobby, illicit streaming is now the “financial architecture” for global syndicates involved in everything from human trafficking and narcotics to funding international terrorism.
The joint report, titled “Organized. Piracy. Crime.”, reveals that modern piracy networks have ditched traditional hierarchies for a decentralized, digital-first model that is harder to track than a ghost in the machine. These groups use a “franchise model,” selling turnkey piracy kits, complete with streaming panels and content libraries, to operators worldwide, allowing the “CEOs” of these syndicates to remain anonymous while smaller cells take the heat.
In November 2024, European authorities dismantled a pay-TV network serving 22 million subscribers that generated a staggering $288 million (£230 million) per month. During raids across 11 countries, police seized not just servers and cryptocurrency, but a small army’s worth of drugs and firearms.
The crossover between digital theft and violent crime is no longer a theory. In Brazil, investigators found that piracy has become a “Plan B” for drug traffickers, providing low-risk, high-reward revenue to buy weapons and expand operations.
Operation fake (Spain): Exposed a syndicate combining content theft with property fraud, drug trafficking, and industrial-scale money laundering, resulting in 30 arrests and $12.7 million in frozen assets.
The “Hells Angels” connection: A Canadian investigation linked a piracy operator to members of the Hells Angels, noting he had previously been sentenced for cocaine smuggling.
Terrorist funding: Groups like Hezbollah and D-Company (led by global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim) have historically used piracy proceeds to fund their activities. Al-Manar, a banned terrorist television network, currently uses illegal IPTV services to bypass U.S. broadcast bans.
Perhaps most disturbing is the link to human exploitation. North East Regional Organised Crime Unit detective sergeant James Woodcock stated that “illegal streaming services… help fund wider organised crime such as human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, drug supply and other sinister crimes”.
In Southeast Asia, an estimated 220,000 people are being held in “polycriminal” compounds in Myanmar and Cambodia, forced to run cyber scams and potentially power the very IPTV panels used by Western viewers.
These syndicates have become masters of financial disguise, moving money faster than a 5G connection. Using shell companies, “hawala” informal payment systems, and cryptocurrency “mixing” services, they convert illegal subscriptions into luxury cars, real estate, and jewelry.
A prime example is the U.S. prosecution of IPTV mogul Bill Omar Carrasquillo (known as “Omi in a Hellcat”), whose Gears TV service generated tens of millions of dollars used to fund a lifestyle of luxury vehicles and commercial property.
Despite these networks meeting every international definition of organised crime set by the United Nations and Interpol, the report argues that authorities are currently “bringing a knife to a digital gunfight”.
The authors are urging governments to adopt stricter “site-blocking” laws, already used in over 50 countries, to cut off overseas criminals from domestic markets. As digital piracy generates an estimated $40 billion globally each year, the message is clear: if it operates like the mafia and launders like the mafia, it’s time to treat it like the mafia.
While the public in countries like Brazil and India (over 60 per cent) clearly see the link between piracy and organised crime, recognition in the UK and US remains lower. It seems the biggest hurdle to stopping these syndicates isn’t just technology, but the realization by consumers that their monthly “bargain” stream might be paying for someone else’s misery.
