For instance, bookings by Indians at the Four Seasons Mauritius rose 50% in 2023 from 2022, said general manager Martin Dell.
“The trend continues to be positive in 2024. Our multi-bedroom private retreats are very popular among family travellers looking to have a memorable vacation in the privacy of their pool villas,” he said. Adding to the property’s lure is Indian restaurant Chatkar.
At Anantara Hotels and Resorts, annual room night production (rooms occupied every year) by Indian guests across its Middle East and other Asian properties rose 72% last year from 2022. The chain said bookings by Indians in the first quarter of 2024 were up 36% from the year before.
Indians are driving luxury travel in the Asia-Pacific region, with 89% of them planning to spend more in the next 12 months. This is according to a report released Monday by Marriott International on high networth travellers in the Asia Pacific.
Families and friends are touring together to mark key milestones besides attending private functions or events as per the report, with 38% planning trips with friends and 33% doing so as part of a celebration.Concierge services, experiences and itineraries are being tailored to the fancies of Indian luxury travellers. These include F1 supercar drives, Michelin star dining and therapeutic baths in Azerbaijan’s mud volcanoes, said Rajeev Kale, president and country head for holidays, MICE and visa at Thomas Cook (India).“Our luxury icebreaker polar cruise products to Antarctica and the Arctic costing approximately 10-12 lakh per person are also witnessing growing demand,” he said.
“Luxury train journeys are also seeing an uptick like Australia’s Ghan and South Africa’s Blue Train,” said Kale.
The well-heeled Indian traveller is willing to increase spends on holidays by 20-25%, said Daniel D’Souza, president and country head for holidays at SOTC Travel.
“We have witnessed a growing interest towards experiences like private estate tours in Italy, tours in wine regions of Barolo, Barbaresco and Alta Langa, private jungle safaris in Kenya’s Masai Mara to elephant watching from a private balcony at the Four Seasons Serengeti,” he said. Nishant Kashikar, country manager for India and Gulf at Tourism Australia said according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia saw approximately 410,000 Indian arrivals for the year ended April 2024, marking a 3% increase compared to 2019 levels. “These visitors, however, recorded a 28% increase in spends over 2019 levels to $2.3 billion (Australian dollars), thereby signifying rising affluence among these travellers,” he added.
According to Anubhav Gupta, senior vice president for business development at Mastercard, Indian travellers’ preference for bespoke experiences has grown in recent years.
“Indians are embarking on international trips in large numbers. According to Mastercard Economics Institute’s Travel Trends 2024 Breaking Boundaries report, there has been a rise in Indian passenger arrivals by 53% in Japan, 248% in Vietnam and 59% in the US compared to 2019,” he said.
