What if luxury on your next holiday has nothing to do with a bigger hotel room or a business class seat? For Indian travellers, that idea is becoming increasingly real. Today, paying more is less about showing that you can and more about spending on the parts of a holiday that actually matter to you.
Pallavi Saxena, Chief Marketing and Revenue Officer, Cleartrip, calls this shift “definition agnostic”. For one traveller, luxury could still mean a five-star hotel. For another, it could mean a quiet local experience, a better location, a flexible booking or simply having fewer things to worry about. “Travellers are deciding what matters most to them and spending selectively on those aspects rather than paying for luxury in a uniform or traditional sense,” she says.
Luxury is getting personal
The traditional markers of premium travel still have their place, but they are no longer the whole story. Travellers increasingly want their holidays to fit their interests, budgets and the people they are travelling with.
That could mean spending more on
• A unique stay in a location that makes sense for the trip
• A private experience or a carefully planned itinerary
• Wellness-focused holidays
• Priority access to sporting events and concerts
• Better flexibility around bookings and changes
• Local food and cultural experiences that feel more personal
Abraham Alapatt, President and Group Head, Marketing, Service Quality, Value Added Services & Innovation, Thomas Cook (India) Limited & SOTC Travel, says travellers are becoming “much more intentional” about where they spend on travel.
His examples range from premium seats at major cricket and tennis events to global music concerts and curated culinary experiences. In other words, the premium spend can now sit outside the hotel room entirely.
Value does not mean picking the cheapest option
There is an equally interesting shift at the other end of the spending spectrum. Budget-conscious travellers still care about price, but the lowest fare is not automatically the best deal. Transparency, convenience, safety, comfortable stays, dependable service and flexibility are becoming basic expectations.
Saxena says Cleartrip is responding through products such as ClearChoice, ClearChoice Max, Book@0 and its Elite loyalty programme. Book@0, for eligible hotel stays, lets customers reserve without paying upfront until closer to the booking date. Elite also offers benefits such as a ₹9 domestic flight date change option for eligible members.
The wider idea is simple. Travellers want control over where they spend and less stress around the rest.
And then comes the AI revolution
The theme for World Tourism Day 2026, “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”, fits neatly into this shift. By 2030, both executives expect technology and AI to play a bigger role in helping people search, plan and manage holidays. AI could suggest suitable dates, stays and itineraries based on individual preferences, while travel platforms could move beyond simply helping customers make a booking.
Alapatt believes the human element will remain important too. Technology can make choices faster and planning simpler, but human expertise can help turn those choices into meaningful experiences.
So, what might premium travel look like by 2030? Less about having the most expensive option at every step and more about having the right things happen at the right time.
And good value? Perhaps it will be even simpler. Pay for what matters, get comfort and convenience where it counts, and spend less time sorting out the logistics.
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