INDIANS ARE increasingly leaning toward niche travel with adventure tourism

INDIANS ARE increasingly leaning toward niche travel with adventure tourism being the most popular concept. Travellers are seeking activities like mountaineering, rock climbing, trekking, skiing (above), skating, mountain biking and safaris. This has resulted in the popularity of destinations like Bintan (Indonesia) for adventure sports and South Africa for jungle safaris.

LUXURY TRAVEL: Indians are spending more on holidays at private islands, luxury yachts, exclusive hotels, chalets and palaces. Castles, palaces and villa stays in Ireland, Switzerland and Greece are likely to gain popularity in the next year.

SINGLE DESTINATION TRIPS: Rather than combining multiple destinations in one holiday, travellers are willing to plan a holiday exploring a single destination like the Fiji Islands, Scandinavia and the Caribbean, which offer unique experiences.

EXPERIENTIAL TOURISM: It is a rapidly emerging trend. Indians are looking forward to understand and be a part of the culture and heritage of the destination they seek to explore. SPORTS TOURISM: It is also gaining in popularity e.g. FIFA World Cup, Formula 1, cricket matches, etc.

EC0-TOURISM: Young Indian travellers are leaning towards identifying an exciting, eco-friendly way to see the world without compromising on comfort and style. Eco-tourism, which entails responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environment and improves the wellbeing of local people is amongst the top five future travel trends as per the Kuoni India Holiday Report.

DOMESTIC OPTIONS: Luxury travellers in India are opting for royal holidays in the palaces of Jaipur and Udaipur.
Spa and wellness retreats are also becoming popular with travellers.
For more active holidays, people are opting for jungle safaris (left) in breathtaking lodges at Panna, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Kanha, as well as scuba diving and white water river rafting trips. Finally, frequent travellers are seeking a glimpse of true Indian culture via village homestays.