India hotels offer dolphin watching, mud cottages to spur growth
Travel operators are looking at untouched corners of the country and targeting high-spenders
[MUMBAI] India’s biggest hotel chains are betting their money on curated, luxury stays in offbeat locations, as they seek to stand out in an overcrowded travel market where traditional holidays have begun to feel ordinary.
As throngs of tourist groups head to popular destinations like Goa, Jaipur and Shimla, travel operators are racing to invest in untouched corners of the country.
From dolphin watching off a tiny Arabian Sea island to hidden waterfalls in the Himalayan foothills, the focus is on capturing high-spending travellers seeking fresh and authentic alternatives.
Indian Hotels, owner of the Taj brand, has been among the most aggressive.
Last month, it acquired a majority stake in Sparsh Infratech, which runs the wellness retreat Atmantan. It is located in the Western Ghats, a Unesco world heritage site known for its evergreen tropical forests and at least 325 vulnerable or endangered species. A three-night retreat here costs at least US$1,260.
In August, it partnered with boutique chain Brij, which is known for properties in places like Jawai, a leopard-rich town in western India.
“Wellness-led experiences will be a major growth driver for the sector,” managing director Puneet Chhatwal said, positioning the company to lead what he calls “the future of experiential travel”.
Outlying locations
Others are pivoting to keep up. Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts and boutique operators such as Untitled Hotels & Resorts, which runs The Postcard Hotel, are expanding into outlying locations.
Analysts say that the segment could outpace the broader leisure travel market. Luxury properties in newer or lesser-known destinations provide an alternative to travelling overseas for rich Indians, said Prashant Biyani of Elara Securities India.
The market potential is significant – local travel agency WanderOn projects the segment to reach US$45 billion by 2027, mirroring global trends.
India logged nearly three billion domestic tourist visits in 2024, up 18 per cent from a year earlier, boosted in part by religious tourism. Outbound departures, a fraction of that at 31 million visits, have grown rapidly in recent years.
Cleartrip, backed by a Walmart unit in India, is seeing the shift first-hand. Its head of hotels, Akhil Malik, said that the company’s portfolio of wellness-focused activities grew 300 per cent in the July-to-September quarter against a year earlier, twice as fast as the platform overall.
Cleartrip is planning to add activities like stargazing and guided heritage walks next year. The next frontier for local travel is “activities and experiences”, he added.
MakeMyTrip is also riding the trend. Packages featuring boutique properties are up 15 per cent from a year earlier, with nearly one in three local holiday packages now including at least one niche stay, said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group chief executive officer.
Case studies in offbeat luxury
“We’re trying to build where nobody has built before,” said Kapil Chopra, founder of The Postcard Hotel.
The Postcard Hotel’s dolphin-watching activity in coastal Karnataka in southern India involves a boat ride to a remote island and costs upwards of 4,500 rupees (S$64.71), while the stays cost at least 39,000 rupees per night.
While the boom may be good for business, it carries the risk of ecological damage to vulnerable areas. India is now the world’s third-largest source of tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions, behind only the US and China.
Fragile ecosystems
Overtourism has also driven unregulated construction in fragile ecosystems, prompting scientists and academics to call on the government to put checks in place.
Still, demand is growing because these locations provide a respite for city-dwellers. In northern India, Aahana Forest Resort, near the Jim Corbett National Park, has welcomed more visitors, helped in part by the worsening winter pollution in Delhi.
Visitors escape the capital’s toxic air by flocking to the resort, said Avni Tripathi, the property’s chief marketing officer, who is expecting at least a 20 per cent growth in revenue in the financial year ending Mar 31.
Meanwhile, these offerings boost hotel chains’ revenue per available room – a key industry metric – and help with consumer stickiness.
“The target audience may be small, but its profitability is higher,” said Biyani of Elara Securities. BLOOMBERG
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