Organised by World Travel Magazine, Southeast Asia’s & India’s leading consumer luxury travel and lifestyle publication, Luxury Tribe is a digital three-day invitation-only event that offers the carefully selected participants a meticulous and personalised line-up of up to 30 pre-scheduled 20 minutes meetings, networking sessions and expert-led conferences.
The luxury travel market in India is growing at a fast pace as Indian travellers become more adventurous. According to a report on luxury travel by Amadeus, a Madrid-based travel technology provider, India’s luxury travel market projects an annual growth rate of 12.8 per cent between 2015 and 2025, making the region’s expected growth rate the highest of all 25 countries included in the report.
With India’s booming middle class comes great potential for luxury travel investment, which is only growing. Luxury travel translates differently from person to person. Recognising this and embracing the need for personalisation is the key factor that will allow brands to stand out.
Sheetal Rastogi, Co-Founder & Business Development Director Luxury Tribe comments: ”Curating something that appeals to the different Indian luxury travellers profiles on a deep and personal level goes a long way. It starts from first-contact and continues through post-tour relationship management. This is where the role of travel designers in India is crucial: high-end luxury travellers demand experiential itineraries that add value to their lifestyle in some way”.
Furthermore, in India the number of Ultra-High-Net-Worth individuals (UHNWI) – defined as those with net worth of at least US$30m – has increased over the past decade by 500 each year, according to Knight Frank’s wealth report, released in summer 2019. India is expect to add an extra 1,000 UHNWI every year over the next decade, says the property consultancy.
In India, the under-40 age group will continue to account for a significant proportion of the top end of the socio-economic table. While remote working and bleisure were fairly known concepts, the pandemic has intensified this trend, along with luxury staycations, generational and pod travel.
Leisure travel recovery is being led by millennials and it is expected to continue in a more pronounced way in the future. Sheetal adds: "Young Indians will be seen going back to taking multiple short vacations or mini-trips once in a while in order to rejuvenate and reconnect with their friends and loved ones."
The Indian traveller’s mindset has evolved over time from economic budget centric to experiential high end luxury indulgence.
Sheetal continues: “To respond sensibly to this change, the travel curators’ role is rising to customise the offer and meet the needs of the Asian luxury traveller in India.”
Luxury travel buyers and designers catering to this elite group typically work exclusively for family offices, are very discreet and cannot be found online. At Luxury Tribe, exhibitors will have the extraordinary opportunity to meet with this exclusive set of prominent Indian luxury travel buyers, destination wedding planners, pre-qualified luxury travel agencies and senior travel designers exclusively representing high-net-worth clients.
“Luxury Tribe has carefully cultivated this exclusive – yet elusive – network of elite travel buyer contacts, one that we’re now excited to share with our esteemed partners.” continues Sheetal Rastogi.
As vaccinations roll out progressively across India, the country is expected to regain its momentum as a formidable market for outbound luxury travel, with lavish destination weddings (such as the US$100 million multiple city-spanning wedding of the Ambani family) proving a particularly promising segment.
A December 2020 joint survey by Thomas Cook India and SOTC found that a whopping 89 per cent of respondents were keen to resume travel, with 71 per cent confident of air travel, and 48 per cent likely to choose international travel over domestic destinations.
In addition, Skift recently reported that “India is being seen as the next wellspring of Asian tourists”, with Indian tourists flocking to the Maldives and Dubai, two destinations that have reopened since mid-last year with no quarantine required.
With Indians experiencing tremendous pent-up travel demand, luxury travel companies see a silver lining as India recovers from the pandemic. Seychelles, for instance, has seen a significant uptick in private jet transfers among small groups and families seeking safety and privacy, while destinations as diverse as Sri Lanka, Kenya, Switzerland are all banking on returning Indian travellers.
Successfully harnessing these ultra-affluent and discerning Indian travellers requires a solid understanding of their unique preferences and needs. Elite Indian travellers have a strong desire for experiential travel and demand a very high standard of luxury, perceived as synonymous of social status. They also seek highly personalised experiences and are increasingly receptive to regions further afield such as Africa, South America, in addition to Europe, as well as ‘off-beaten-track’ experiences such as Indonesian Phinisi cruises, chasing the Northern Lights in Scandinavia or temple cuisine tours in Kyoto.
Luxury Tribe’s ILLUME conference, which is hosted by thought leaders in luxury travel marketing, will provide these key insights mapping out perspectives for the next 24 months and more. ILLUME’s panel discussions and speaker led sessions are tailored to equip participants with ready strategies for successfully acquiring – and growing – their affluent Indian customer base in 2021 and beyond. Participants will be able to seamlessly navigate the virtual innovative 3D exhibition floors and facilities efficiently to engage with like-minded industry leaders.
Exhibitors at Luxury Tribe will include selected international luxury hotel brands, destination management companies, jet and yacht charters, airlines, bespoke shopping destinations, tourism boards, and unique independent boutique hotels that are redefining transformative luxury travel for high-net-worth Indian travellers. Each exhibitor may sign up to 30 stringently matched, 1-to-1 pre-scheduled appointments, along with unlimited access to all ILLUME conferences, networking sessions, Wellness Lounge & Cafe?. Post-event, attendees will receive exclusive ILLUME video recaps and intel briefings, as well as invites to follow-up meetings and exclusive discounts.
“May’s Luxury Tribe will be the first opportunity in a series of events we are developing to shape the next generation of game-changing travel experiences for the most elite, high-net-worth travellers in India and further afield. We look forward to welcoming key players in the industry” concludes Sheetal.
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