The leading names from the travel and tourism industry were present at the announcement of the winners of World Travel Awards 2012 in a glittering ceremony in Doha. India’s rise in the industry was acknowledged during the World Travel Awards ceremony in Qatar where this ‘incredible’ country was voted as “World’s Leading Travel Destination”. If reports at the ILTM Cannes are anything to go by coupled with the ‘Oscar’ of travel awards bestowed on India, then these are indeed exciting time for luxury travel segment in the ‘incredible’ country. 

Talking about the trends in travel and tourism industry in India, Mr. Rahul Sharma Managing Director, Indian Luxury Trains (ILT), was quite upbeat at the future prospects. According to him it is one of the most profitable industries in India credited with contributing a substantial amount of foreign exchange.

Luxury Travel India
Indian Luxury trains upbeat on global trends in luxury travel

Luxury travel segment is one segment with huge potential. Although the boom in the luxury travel segment is not at the level it was a few years ago, the reports of its decline have been greatly exaggerated notwithstanding a complete Euro-zone meltdown and a looming global economic crisis.

According to a recent report by Felicity Long in Travel Weekly, the buzz at the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) conference in Cannes, France, in early December was a clear indication that there is indeed a strong demand in this travel niche.

To stay on top of the trends suppliers need to look for the ways to package cultural interaction into the guest experience. Creating insider experiences that range from pre-packaged, off-the-beaten-track tours with local guides, to customized outings are the need of hour. Sensing this demand, luxury travel companies like Orient-Express have invested in restoring the world’s most famous train routes. And travelers are responding by packing these new trains.

Much of the new boom in luxury trains has come in Asia. When it comes to luxury rail tours, India leads the way with as many as 6 luxury trains offering unique cultural experiences across destinations in India. Indian Luxury Trains (ILT) is India’s first and only luxury train travel portal and we are looking at a great opportunity in this luxury travel niche in India” added Mr. Sharma “these are really exciting time for us here at the Indian Luxury Trains”.

Talking about luxury trains Mr. Sharma added that these rail tours in India are designed to create cultural interactions by bundling the ethos and tradition of bygone era into elegant and unique guest experiences which adds to the appeal of the overall experience of the journey”.

Offering one stop solution to luxury travelers, ILT is also looking forward to take luxury travel to the next level through their comprehensive offering. Mr. Sharma added that the recent revamp of the website of ILT (indianluxurytrains.com) to make available news section, reviews and brochures are an endeavor in making the offering even more comprehensive.

Besides, measures are also in place to up the tempo when it comes to proactive promotion of luxury trains in India in international markets through media promotion and travel markets. Recent presence of ILT at ILTM, Cannes and road show by tourism ministry in Dubai were a few such measures in that direction.