Today, paying more is less about showing that you can and more about spending on the parts of a holiday that actually matter to you. What if luxury on your next holiday has nothing to do with a bigger hotel room or a business class seat? For Indian travellers, that idea is becoming increasingly real.
For one traveller, luxury could still mean a five-star hotel. For another, it could mean a quiet local experience, a better location, a flexible booking or simply having fewer things to worry about. The traditional markers of premium travel still have their place, but they are no longer the whole story. His examples range from premium seats at major cricket and tennis events to global music concerts and curated culinary experiences. In other words, the premium spend can now sit outside the hotel room entirely. Here’s what to know about the Grand Train Tour
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Pallavi Saxena, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, Cleartrip, calls this shift “definition agnostic”. “Travellers are deciding what matters most to them and spending selectively on those aspects rather than paying for luxury in a uniform or traditional sense,” she says. Travellers increasingly want their holidays to fit their interests, budgets and the people they are travelling with. • A private experience or a carefully planned itinerary • Local food and cultural experiences that feel more personal Abraham Alapatt, President and Group Head, Marketing, Service Quality, Value Added Services & Innovation, Thomas Cook (India) Limited & SOTC Travel, says travellers are becoming “much more intentional” about where they spend on travel.
