30 Sundays, an online travel company that recently raised funds from Info Edge Ventures, Eximius Ventures, and First Cheque, is gearing up to launch a new segment, called 30 Sundays Luxe, for curating personalized semi-luxury and luxury packages, its co-founder Kshitij Chaudhary told Mint.
“Travellers have started craving premium experiences like high-end resorts but somehow the market has not kept up with the rise in demand. Salespersons creating premium packages require different skill sets and expertise as the world of travel is evolving every day,” Chaudhary said.
Founded in 2022 by former BCG consultant Chaudhary and former Apple executive Anuj Pujani, 30 Sundays will invest as much as ₹1 crore to build the luxe offering, most of it for building technology capabilities as well as for hiring and training sales teams.
Online visa processing platform Atlys is witnessing a spike in inquiries for premium destinations that promise exclusivity—places like the French Riviera, Switzerland, the Maldives, and Seychelles. In the last six months alone, luxury-related inquiries have climbed by around 40%, according to Mohak Nahta, founder and chief executive officer.
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Atlys, which secured $20 million in Series B funding from Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital in November, is noticing a surge in demand not only from metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi but also smaller regions.
“While the biggest surge has come from major metros like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, we’re seeing a growing wave of interest from fast-emerging urban centers as well, like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Indore—indicating that the appetite for comfort and exclusivity spans the length and breadth of the country,” Nahta told Mint.
As per a November report by travel aggregator SkyScanner that surveyed 19,000 travellers across 16 markets, India led the charge in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of travel plans, with 66% of the Indian respondents saying they planned to travel more in 2025. Of them, more than half said they planned to spend more on flights while 45% were willing to spend more on accommodation.
The global luxury travel market was valued at $241 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.8% to $440 billion by the end of this decade, according to estimates by consultancy firm Coherent Market Insights. Emerging economies such as India are expected to aid the expansion of the global luxury travel market, it added.
Big dreams, bigger budgets
Global travel restrictions during the pandemic generated a great deal of pent-up demand, inspiring many people to use their saved funds on indulgent and stress-free getaways. Moreover, higher disposable income among the middle and upper-middle classes has emboldened many to opt for premium, high-end vacations.
Indian travelers are also showing a clear preference for experiential destinations like Switzerland, the Maldives, Dubai, and select European regions, where curated and memorable encounters take precedence over traditional sightseeing, according to Atlys’s Nahta.
“Recognizing India as a prime market, international brands have also introduced tailored packages and exclusive perks to cater to this segment’s evolving tastes,” Nahta said.
Atlys has introduced concierge support for travellers heading to the UK, the US, and Canada. “The streamlined process allows travellers to focus on planning the perfect luxury getaway rather than getting bogged down in paperwork,” according to Nahta.
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30 Sundays formulates nearly 150 travel itineraries every month, of which nearly 40% are packages in the semi-luxury and luxury categories, according to co-founder Chaudhary. “With an average cost of ₹1.5-2 lakh for international destinations, couples across age groups are looking beyond domestic regions. Even couples in their 50s are willing to spend on convenience,” he said.
Many travellers are also opting for out-of-the-box activities such as scuba diving, food tasting, and spending a day with locals to escape from mainstream and crowded tourist attractions. “There is a visible change in mindset and there’s no going back,” Chaudhary added.
Boon for the industry
The heightened demand for luxury travel is prompting the entire sector—hotels, airlines, and tour operators—to elevate their game. Top-tier amenities, personalized services, and exceptional comfort levels have become the new standard for appealing to this demographic, Nahta said.
Large hospitality players are benefitting as well. In an interview with Mint in October, David S. Marriott, chairman of hotel chain Marriott International Inc., said luxury and leisure travel had brought the US-based company out of the pandemic.
“A key learning is how important leisure travel is. We were earlier pretty reliant on business travel and group business, and the pandemic really reinforced the importance of the leisure traveller,” said Marriott. “That’s a segment that’s been growing, and business travel has been declining slightly. So there’s a greater focus on leisure travellers coming out of the pandemic. Luxury and leisure travel brought us out of the pandemic first. The strength in the luxury side has been a wonderful surprise.”
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Atlys’s Nahta projected a 25–30% jump in luxury travel bookings over the next 6-12 months. “Aside from the release of pent-up demand and growing flight connectivity, a key factor is India’s revised tax slabs, which give many individuals more disposable income to dedicate to premium, experience-driven vacations,” Nahta said.
Additionally, easing visa requirements in popular destinations have made international travel far more accessible to Indian tourists. This not only lowers the barriers to travel in general but also encourages those with a taste for luxury to explore new destinations without the usual logistical hassles, Nahta added.
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