Travel

Is Experiential Travel the next big thing in Indian Tourism

An increasing number of ‘tourists’ are turning into ‘travellers’. They are choosing to opt out of common package tours, ‘traditional’ sightseeing, standard cookie-cutter and rigid approaches to travel experiences. “Authenticity” has become the travel buzzword of the moment and the mass packaged tourism is quickly losing its appeal. People want to reclaim what’s real and common and mass tourism is no longer sufficient. Moving away from run-of-the-mill and homogenized experiences like group bus tours or inflexible itineraries, many travellers are seeking out more adventurous and experiential travel. They now want something much more than just taking photos infront of famous attractions. Many discerning travellers prefer to choose homestays and want to experience and connect with a local destination more deeply. They are now more inclined towards what is termed as ‘Experiential Travel’.

A local homestay in Dzongu, Sikkim with the majestic Kanchenjunga range behind (Photo: Abhirup Paul)

What is ‘Experiential Travel’?

The idea of Experiential travel entails immersing yourself in the real essence of a place and connect with it in a more genuine way instead of touring it superficially. The idea revolves around cultural exploration, activity-based and unique travel experiences. People nowadays want to seek out experiences that enrich them. The approach here is that you don’t just tick off a destination from your bucket list, but actually immerse yourself by connecting to its history, people and culture. When you visit a place, you try to live like a local, indulge in and educate yourself about rustic local experiences, seeing the place through the inhabitants’ eyes. You as a traveller engage with every aspect of the place as opposed to just seeing the touristy and crowded sights of it. You go beyond the touristy, trendy and crowded spots in the destination and see the offbeat and uncommon sights preferred by the locals.

The plan is to know the place and understand it from the perspective of the locals. For example, instead of staying at a standard hotel, experiential travelers may spend a few nights at a homestay hosted by a local family where you not only engage with them in many interesting conversations sharing each other’s stories but also directly live with them to get a real taste of the local lifestyle. Another example would be instead of tasting the local cuisine at a market restaurant, you seek out the culinary roots of traditional dishes by having lunch with a local family at their home.

Trekking and exploring the local waterfalls and in secluded West SIkkim forests (Photo: Abhirup Paul)

The Rise of Experiential Travel

In most places of the world inclduing India, travelling is taking a more experience-driven route. The idea of Experiential travel has steadily been on the rise over the last few years as more travellers are seeking out a mixture of new experiences and unique visits to extraordinary places. The internet, social media and the emergence of ‘Travel Influencers’, all have aided this rise in activity-based and experiential travel.

Exploring uncharted, lesser-known territories, researching unique one-of-a-kind experiences and going through a host of options to choose the best from, all of these have helped experiential travel become so relevant. Popular social platforms like Instagram have given people the opportunity to reach out to a huge audience and share their interesting travel stories. Today, they are more keen to uncover interesting and intriguing stories that set them apart from the rest of the social media community. Authenticity has become a core principle for a lot of travellers. They want to go beyond gazing out of a tourist bus and actually spend time learning, interacting and doing things with locals. They want to be different and want to show their online fans and followers something new, unprecedented, unique and eye-catching.

Travellers increasingly want to go to remote places and find the hidden gems which most tourists skip on their usual itineraries. Many want to develop an understanding of these places and an appreciation for the locals, the environment and their lifestyle by visiting such places. They are open to empathize with the issues of the locals and see if they can contribute in some way to bring about positive changes to their lives. Experiential travel therefore is often more fulfilling and meaningful leaving a lasting impact on the traveler.

With the rise of such kind of travel and in the face of such an evolution, the tourism service providers and tour operators are tasked with curating experiences that can provide their customers with new, unique and authentic ways to understand their world better through the destinations they are visiting. Experiential travel has also encouraged many operators to collaborate with locals and local communities which has led to a boom in community-led tourism. This has generated much-needed employment along with prospering the local economies, while bringing many local wonders and creations like unique handicrafts in front of the visitors.

Autumn colours in a remote village in the Tulail valley region of North Kashmir (Photo: Abhirup Paul)

Experiential Travel in India

There has been a steady rise of experiential travel in India. For Indian millennials today as well as the previous generations including the elederly, the itineraries are not etched in stone. For Indians, often the journey, the activities, the learning aspects and the experiences are more important than the destination. One of the few companies catering to this growing segment is EKA Experiences, which is based out of Bangalore and Calcutta. It is one of the few experiential travel companies in india offering curated trips, guided journeys, and offbeat treks in extraordinary places of India, Nepal and beyond. The company curates very unique places to visit in India and offers immersive and fulfilling experiences in lesser-known and less-touristy destinations. Their curated trips are handcrafted to be immersive, educative and authentic in nature. They also craft personalized luxury programs and bespoke travel experiences for families and most of their clients are discerning travellers hailing from place like Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Ahmedabad and other major cities. Some of their unique experiences and treks include offbeat and uncommon places in Kashmir (Gurez Valley, Tulian Lake), Sikkim(Yumthang Valley, Goecha La), Ladakh (Rumtse-Tso Morir Nomad Trail) and Nepal (Khopra Ridge In Annapurna Region, Gokyo Lakes in Khumbu Region). The company keeps the important tenet of responsibsle travel in mind while curating these trips and treks. They strive to facilitate experiential travel in a sustainably, socially and an environmentally-conscious manner and prefer to work with people from the local community with an aim to uplift the rural

and local communities through a mindful travel design. As per them, there is an increasing demand and inquiries for unique experiences, a and homestays, all show that it’s not a passing fad. Experiential travel is a paradigm shift in Indian Tourism and it is here to stay.

James Morkel

Tech website author with a passion for all things technology. Expert in various tech domains, including software, gadgets, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies. Dedicated to simplifying complex topics and providing informative and engaging content to readers. Stay updated with the latest tech trends and industry news through their insightful articles.

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