Elite travel curator Luxury Tribe is hosting the first in-person event of the Luxury Tribe India and ILLUME conference next week in Jaipur, India.

Taking place from March 15 to 17 at Leela Palace in India's Pink City, the show follows two years of well-attended digital editions where industry experts and high-end hospitality brands explored the breadth of opportunities in India's luxury travel sector, said a statement.

Similar to its virtual counterparts, the Spring/Summer edition -- an invitation-only event comprising ILLUME conference on the first day and two days of Luxury Tribe India marketplace -- will facilitate meetings between India's top luxury travel buyers, travel designers, and global luxury travel brands seeking to tap into India's robust market.

Travel intelligence platform Skift sees Indian outbound travel fully recovering next year, with demand expected to outstrip that of former travel giant China.

'The potential opportunities for travel providers in India's luxury sector, and brands looking to cater to it, are immense,' remarks Sheetal Rastogi, Founder of Luxury Tribe India and Editorial Director of World Travel Magazine. 'Travel inspires, and Indians want to light that spark again.'

Luxury Tribe India will pair selected participants for up to 36 pre-scheduled, 20-minute meetings, host networking sessions, and stage expert-led panels.

'After a tough couple of years, we are excited that people can rediscover the joys of travel,' notes Rastogi. 'By hosting the event in person, industry insiders will make meaningful connections that will ultimately benefit every affluent Indian passionate about travel.'

The March event will be the first of two in-person shows this year and is expected to welcome more than 60 high-end buyers and travel curators from over 15 cities in India — from Amritsar to Chennai, Mumbai to Kolkata.

'Indian travellers are incredibly sophisticated, worldly, and inquisitive,' continues Rastogi. 'There is pent-up demand from them; they are keen to see what they have been missing and want unrivalled experiences.'

TTN spoke to Rastogi on the event and its programmes. Excerpts:

How is the concept different from other luxury travel events?

Luxury Tribe events add great value through ILLUME, our conference platform, pre-scheduled appointments with hand-picked and pre-screened buyers and creating lots of engaging, networking opportunities.

In addition, Luxury Tribe is the only travel trade event which brings together hand-picked Indian luxury travel buyers under one roof. India is a diverse, emerging source market for luxury travel, and we are creating an opportunity for international suppliers to understand affluent Indian travellers’ preferences, wants, wishes, and desires, while building successful, long term repeat bookings.

When is it expected to come to Dubai/anywhere in the Middle East?

We have virtually hosted three highly successful Luxury Tribe events and two ILLUME conferences in 2021 & 2022 with over 60 international suppliers and over 80 hand selected Indian luxury travel buyers. We will be bringing Luxury Tribe: Autumn/Winter 2023 to Middle East in Q4. The location will be announced soon.

Are there any buyers or exhibitors from the Middle East at the Jaipur show? Any registered interest?

We have key luxury properties and tourism boards from the Middle East highly interested in Luxury Tribe & ILLUME. Dubai has been the go-to destination for Indian celebrities and luxury travellers for quite some time now, and we are seeing interest develop within the luxury traveller from India, to explore the rest of the Middle East as well, be it adventure or culture tourism. Our buyer and exhibitor profile represent this.

Confirmed exhibitors from Middle East are: Alila Jabal Akhdar & Alila Hinu Bay Oman and Zulal Wellness Qatar.

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