According to a new trends report on the state of travel for 2017, the year will see the rise of SanctuStays or detox resorts, experiential travel and a return to the ‘human touch.' By Jigyasu Joshi
Saurabh Mudgil, manager at a private bank, maintains a travelling account. “More than half of my salary is directly transferred in my travel account. And, I take a week’s off every three months for a long vacation. It helps me reboot my brain,” he said. And in the course of his bookings, he has signed up for ski lessons for the perfect Alpine experience and even enrolled for a art-in-residence workshop in the hills to acquire a new passion, that of pottery.
According to a recent study, as many as 44 per cent of travellers from India increased their travel spends. Being high on the global list of travellers, who want to try something new, India is 18th in the global travel budget rankings. like Saurabh, the realisation of investing more in experiences than investing in tangible products, has helped grow the travel and tourism industry multifold.
“Over the past three years, I have noticed that the travelling in India has evolved. The travellers here are on different points of the travel curve. Some have explored the country and want to explore the places outside the country, while others want to enjoy the places within the country. However, one common thing is that they all do not want to repeat what they did in their last excursion. They are now looking for different things every time they step out,” said Yogesh Mudras, MD, UBM India, organiser of South Asia’s largest travel and tourism exchange, SATTE.
Cultural immersion
Along with partaking in various wellness initiatives, travellers are seeking to leave the comfort of their resort or hotel and truly integrate themselves in the culture of their chosen destination. This would sure lead to fewer holiday selfies being taken as travellers seek to live in the moment more.
Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox and Kings limited, believed that travellers are actively chasing an authentic experience of a location, opting to explore less tourist-focussed locations and avoid anything considered cliché or forged.
“Today, Indian travellers are exploring innovative soul-satisfying holidays like a master class with a chef, spa holidays for those wanting rejuvenation, ski lessons or skydiving for those looking at adventure, trekking and hiking for the nature lovers, while the art lovers have biennales and art festivals,” he said.
Wellness wealth
Interest in health and wellness holidays are predicted to spike. Forget holidays focussed on creating an all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink, all-inclusive resort vibe. For a few years now the concept of a “detox” holiday has been gaining traction and this will really take off in the coming months. “The travel industry will respond by developing more wellness sanctuaries, dubbed ‘SanctuStays’ ranging from villas, apartments and resorts, with services like wellness workshops and meditation facilities,” said Pranav Kapadia, founder, Global Destinations.
Vietnam surely is on every traveller’s list. Unlike other holiday destinations Vietnam is mostly popular as a stress-free destination with visa on arrival for Indians and improved flight connectivity. “Additionally, Vietnam offers a value-for-money package with affordable eateries, low exchange rates with a stronger rupee and most importantly a cosmopolitan South-east Asian experience, Pranav added.
Self-drive escapes
Self-drives are witnessing an upward trend, which co-relates with the increasing adventure spunk among domestic travellers, improving road infrastructure and affordable SUV/MUV choices.
“Self-drive holidays have seen an upsurge with today’s travellers wanting to explore more about their travel destinations beyond known sources of information. These will continue to gain great traction as the new age voyagers are constantly looking for raw and authentic experiences. Apart from being economical, self-drive breaks allow travellers to discover new and offbeat paths and tread their own. This is almost akin to self-discovery,” said Harish Khatri of India Assist Travels.
The most beautiful and exotic drives to trend this year are Stelvio Pass in Italy, Hidden Highway in UK, The Ring Road in Iceland and Southern Scenic Route in New Zealand with some breath-taking driveways.
Travel apps to be the guiding star
like much else, digital technology has transformed travel. We book cab, train and plane rides online on apps and websites, booking the seats we desire well ahead of our journey. Before settling upon a hotel to stay at, we take virtual tours of the premises, look at a hundred reviews and compare room rates on a dozen sites.
There are startups which want to change our travel experience in the hope that it will become more exciting and fulfilling. From choosing destinations to connecting with locals, they want to add a new dimension to our ever evolving travelling story. “We are in the age of WhatsApp. Almost 99 per cent of our guests use WhatsApp. So as to keep up with the technological evolution, the industry players need to come up with things that can make the services for the guests even more handy,” said Narayan VS, co-founder, Go Desk.
Similarly, SeekSherpa lets travellers feel as comfortable as locals in destinations. Its platform allows locals to post their experiences. Travellers can easily book their experiences and post travel-related questions directing them to locals of their choice. Also, the website features many categories such as shopping, photograph and nightlife tours.
More bleisure
The idea of combining business and leisure is what makes young professionals look forward to official tours within the country and offshore. “The combination of business and leisure travel or bleisure is becoming more common. This year, professionals will be looking to combine a bit of leisure time into their trips, potentially bringing family and friends along, too. Travel companies will need to be able to offer the best of both worlds for these travellers, providing both businesses necessities and activities for relaxing,” said Sandiip Srivastava, Director, Youdian Business Solutions.