As India’s growing middle class population is aspiring for experiential travel and associating with luxury, it is time to redefine India luxury market. Addressing the issue, Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris hosted the inaugural Luxury Symposium in partnership with The Luxury League. The inaugural address witnessed participation by Nirmala Sitharaman, minister of commerce and industry, Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, DIPP among other prominent leaders.
Sharing her opinion on the industry, Sitharaman, stated, “It is time that more people become the transformational agents and support the artisans of the country who are barely surviving. The industry has the potential to reach 100 billion mark in another eight years and Make in India vision fits perfectly in this initiative. India finds prominent mention among the five BRIC countries contributing to this industry, due to its high growth rate – we are anticipated to see a 7.6 per cent GDP in 2018. It is India’s aspirational class demand which is fuelling this growth.”
Speaking at the event, Rakesh Sarna, MD and CEO, Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris stated, “India is a fast growing economy, and is expected to have six global megacities in the end of 2025. While we aspire to be the luxury capital of the world, we need to also work towards prosperity of the people.” He urged the people to work together towards literacy and skill, strengthen India’s artisans and power India’s growth potential.
Suman Billa, secretary, Ministry of Tourism, who was present during one of the sessions emphasised on the importance of digitisation for tourism products. He stated, “Digital platform has opened doors to reach out to people seeking experiential travel. There is a constant push that is happening upwards and the main potential lies in the middle class segment.”
The panels featured distinguished speakers and moderators – intellectuals, pioneers of business excellence, key members of the Indian Parliament and bureaucracy. Decision makers and innovators such as the CEO of NITI Ayog Amitabh Kant, HH Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur, historian and textile revivalist Jasleen Dhamija, and Facebook’s country head Umang Bedi spearheaded sessions on their domain expertise.
The Luxury League is a non profit organisation, founded by RituBeri who is engaged in branding India globally. The event was supported by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Textiles, Khadi India, Ministry of Small & Medium Enterprises and Council of for Culture Relations.