Times News Network, 13-12-2006
There are low-budget tourists and no-budget tourists. And Indian travel and hospitality companies are increasingly discovering that no-budget tourists — the top-end luxury ones — are willing to splurge top dollars for the India experience.
A helicopter ride from Delhi to Jaipur to shop for curios or for a breakfast with royalty, a private dinner in the middle of a lake, an exclusive session with a yoga guru, a networking cocktail party with corporate honchos and celebs, or it could even be a visit to the local market with the hotel chef as he selects the ingredients for the hotel’s daily menus — luxuries are increasingly less about extravagance and more about memorable, engaging personal experiences. India is fast coming on its own as a destination for top-end luxury travel, with a niche but growing number of foreign tourists attracted by the allure of the Indian experience, through its wellness industry, palaces, forts, reserve forests, beaches, the Himalayas, and soft adventures. Luxury hotels and travel companies are going the extra mile to woo the cash rich-time poor discerning traveller from Europe and United States. “Interest in India is increasing amongst luxury travellers and we expect this trend to continue,” said a spokesperson from the Oberoi group, which started tapping into this niche market with its “Vilas” properties.
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