Above, Indian tourists at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Education Images / UIG via Getty Images
Above, Indian tourists at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Education Images / UIG via Getty Images

Have money, will travel: More and more wealthy Indians explore the world



Uzma Irfan, 38, from Bengaluru, did not travel overseas until she was 16. But these days, the director at a property company in the city makes sure she travels abroad every year for three weeks with her husband and their daughter, Alayna – who, at 10, has already sailed across the Mediterranean on a luxury cruise liner, trekked in Canada’s Rocky Mountains and basked on the beaches of Australia’s Gold Coast.

“Every year we think of a different place,” says Ms Irfan. “Now my daughter is doing some research on where we’ll go in Norway this year. We want to go and do something different, unique, interesting.”

Luxury travel is on the rise in India.

According to a report on luxury travel by Amadeus, a Madrid-based company that provides technology to the travel industry, India’s luxury travel market has a projected annual growth rate of 12.8 per cent between 2015 and 2025.

The Indian sector’s expected growth rate was the highest of all 25 countries studied in the Amadeus report.

Naturally, a great many companies are increasingly making efforts to target Indian luxury travellers.

“There are hotels that are coming in, there are destination management companies, there are countries coming in,” says Chhavi Chadha, the founder of Bespoke, a boutique luxury travel company in New Delhi, which counts some of India’s industrialist families and Bollywood celebrities among its clients.

“It’s a great market because the spending power is there. That’s why India is coming into notice. Everybody is trying to tap into the market.”

Neelu Singh, the chief executive of Ezeego1, an online travel booking company, says that rising wealth means India is becoming “one of the biggest luxury source markets” – and wealthy Indians are prepared to spend a lot on their holidays.

“For outbound luxury travel, the money spent is between 500,000 rupees [Dh28,570] and 600,000 [for two people] for a short-haul destination, whereas for a long-haul destination, Indians don’t mind spending up to 1 million rupees.”

The number of super wealthy individuals – defined as those with wealth of US$30m or more, excluding their main residence – in India has increased over the past decade by 500 each year, according to Knight Frank’s wealth report, released last month. India is expect to add an extra 1,000 super wealthy individuals every year over the next 10 years, says the company.

The Dubai-based luxury hotel group Jumeirah, which manages Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel, as well as hotels in London, Shanghai and Istanbul, is one of the latest to step up its efforts to tap India for guests. Jumeirah said this month that it will open a representative office in India, under Blue Square Consultants, to increase sales to high-end travellers.

“India has always been a top source market for Dubai. However, in recent years, we have noticed an increase in luxury travellers from this region to our properties around the world, in particular Dubai, London and the Maldives,” says Alison Broadhead, Jumeirah Group’s chief commercial officer.

The extent of the interest in India as a source market for tourists was evident at a three-day trade show that in Mumbai in February, called OTM, which drew representatives from 60 countries’ tourism marketing boards and hotels from destinations including Maldives, Thailand and the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority has said it is expecting 15 to 17 per cent growth in the number of Indian tourists this year. India already accounts for the largest number of tourists to Abu Dhabi.

Karan Anand, the head of relationships at Cox & Kings, a luxury travel company in India, says that the UK, France, Italy, Seychelles, Maldives, Dubai and Bali are some of the most popular holiday spots for Indian travellers.

Premium cruise packages are also becoming an increasingly attractive option for high-end holidays to locations including the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, as well as Alaska and Canada, Mr Anand says.

The growth of India’s luxury travel market is significantly outpacing the rise of overall travel in the country, which is projected to increase by about 7.5 per cent annually between 2015 and 2025.

Indians are becoming more adventurous as travellers, says Ms Chadha. “They’ve done the usual destinations,” she says.

“During summers, they’ve all done the usual Paris and London. The question is what can those destinations offer? A lot of Indians are seeking new experiences, whether its wildlife in Kenya, Iceland, Croatia, wine tours, skydiving. We have to find places they haven’t been to and they’ll really enjoy.”

Although wealthy Indians are prepared to spend large amounts of cash on their holidays, Ms Chadha says that the Indian mindset is always geared towards making sure they are getting value for money.

“The Indian market naturally likes bargains,” she says. “Whether it’s luxury to whatever end it is, they do like a little element of what is special for us? That will remain because it’s very inherent.

“But definitely, if Four Seasons is the best hotel in Florence, they want to get the best hotel and best experience there. I do notice that budgets are sometimes exceeded for the experience or for the brand.”

For Ms Irfan, their annual family holiday is the highlight of the year and she plans to keep taking Alayna to far-flung destinations.

“The world is such a big place,” she says.

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
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Common%20symptoms%20of%20MS
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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

Dolittle

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen

One-and-a-half out of five stars

The%20specs
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RESULTS

Time; race; prize; distance

4pm: Maiden; (D) Dh150,000; 1,200m
Winner: General Line, Xavier Ziani (jockey), Omar Daraj (trainer)

4.35pm: Maiden (T); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Travis County, Adrie de Vries, Ismail Mohammed

5.10pm: Handicap (D); Dh175,000; 1,200m
Winner: Scrutineer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

5.45pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

6.20pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Ejaaby, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson

6.55pm: Handicap (D); Dh160,000; 1,600m
Winner: Storyboard, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

7.30pm: Handicap (D); Dh150,000; 2,200m
Winner: Grand Dauphin, Gerald Mosse, Ahmed Al Shemaili

8.05pm: Handicap (T); Dh190,000; 1,800m
Winner: Good Trip, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETHE%20SPECS%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EEngine%3A%203.5-litre%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3ETransmission%3A%209-speed%20automatc%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20279hp%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20350Nm%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh250%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
FIGHT%20CARD
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELightweight%2010%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBader%20Samreen%20(8-0-0)%20v%20Jose%20Paez%20Gonzales%20(16-2-2)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESuper%20flyweight%2010%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ESultan%20Al%20Nuaimi%20(9-0-0)%20v%20Jemsi%20Kibazange%20(18-6-2)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECruiseweight%208%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Bekdash%20(25-0-0)%20v%20Musa%20N%E2%80%99tege%20(8-4-0)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESuper%20featherweight%208%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBishara%20Sabbar%20(6-0-0)%20v%20Mohammed%20Azahar%20(8-5-1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWelterweight%206%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMarwan%20Mohamad%20Madboly%20(2-0-0)%20v%20Sheldon%20Schultz%20(4-4-0)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EHeavyweight%204%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EYoussef%20Karrar%20(1-0-0)%20v%20Muhammad%20Muzeei%20(0-0-0)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWelterweight%206%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EBenyamin%20Moradzadeh%20(0-0-0)%20v%20Rohit%20Chaudhary%20(4-0-2)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFeatherweight%204%20rounds%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EYousuf%20Ali%20(2-0-0)%20(win-loss-draw)%20v%20Alex%20Semugenyi%20(0-1-0)%0D%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

How to turn your property into a holiday home
  1. Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
  2. Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
  3. Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
  4. Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
  5. Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli

Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

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Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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Kohli (c), Rohit, Dhawan, Rayudu, Pandey, Dhoni (wk), Pant, Jadeja, Chahal, Kuldeep, Khaleel, Shami, Thakur, Rahul.