The wealth effect

The lack of super-luxury hotels limits the well-heeled traveller to the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur circuit.

They come into India with wads of currency (or plastic). They can afford the most exotic destinations. Yet the deep-pocketed tourists religiously stick to the golden triangle of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur.

While the attraction of this circuit is definitely a draw, the lack of super-luxury hotels in other cities, except for a few in south India, is one of the main factors limiting the itinerary of the well-heeled traveller to India.

Where do these high-end tourists prefer to stay? Their choice is usually the Imperial in Delhi, the Vilas properties of the Oberoi in Jaipur or Udaipur or the Aman Resorts property in Ranthambore, says Homa Mistry of Travel Corporation (India).

USA and Germany are the source markets for the high-end tourists for this company, who stay for an average of 8-10 nights, notching up impressive $ 800-1200 average spends per day.

Luxury India Holidays has a larger source base "" Canada, USA, France, Spain and Germany "" for high-end clients. There is only minor deviation, however, from the golden triangle circuit, says Vishwas Makhija, managing director.

The preferred places of stay are the Oberoi Vilas hotels and some standalone places promising royal splendour like the Samode Palace and Devigarh Palace. They also use some Taj properties like the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur, the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur and the Lake Palace in Udaipur.

In Agra, Makhija is forced to book the Vilas property, for want of any other high-end accommodation. In peak season though, desperation pushes them to the suites at the Jaypee Palace in Agra. His clients stay for about 7-10 days and spend about $ 350-600 a day depending on the level of accommodation chosen.

Le Passage to India (LPTI) though has a slightly different story. They get tourists who stay in a four or a five-star hotel for the bulk of their holiday but want to experience one or two nights at the Lake Palace Udaipur or an Oberoi Vilas property, informs Ghulam Naqshband of LPTI.

Their source markets for the deep-pocketed travellers are US, France, Germany, Italy, and Russia. These tourists stay for about 10-11 nights in India and spend about $ 500-600 per day.

Clients of Indo Asia Tours' "" sourced from USA, Switzerland and Russia "" have also opted for Ranthambore, Mumbai and sometimes Goa, apart from the Golden Triangle.

The south of India too gets some of these high-end tourists, but most of the agents we spoke to say the number is very small. Even if they do head down south, Kerala is the only destination of choice and most prefer CGH Earth hotels or hire luxury houseboats.

To keep their special guests happy, these hotels are also changing character to ensure that they are completely divorced from the hoi polloi. Some of them "" like the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur "" have recently taken a deliberate stance to cater to the high-end exclusively. They are refurbishing the hotels as well, to suit the taste of the used-to-luxury kind of clientele, adding large putting greens, wine cellars, steam saunas and jaccuzis and a la carte fine dining options only.

Guess what? The clients are responding. Cartier for example, has booked the entire Rambagh Palace for three nights for its annual marketing jamboree, informs the palace's general manager Gaurav Pokhriyal.

The high-end segment is just about 5 per cent of the total inbound traffic to India (about 4 million), though, with the highest per day spends, it would account for a large swathe of the overall income from tourism. The challenge now is to broaden this segment and nudge these travellers to other parts of India too, so that the demand-push can augment supply of luxury accommodation.