Agenda
Autumn/Winter 2022
4:00 PM IST (GMT+5.30 hrs)
Opening Remarks
Sheetal Rastogi
4:05 PM IST (GMT+5.30 hrs)
The Affluent Indian Traveller: Habits, Preferences and Desires
Sharanjit Leyl
Rakhee Lalvani
Tekla Maira
Christine Galle‐Luczak
4:55 PM IST (GMT+5.30 hrs)
The Indian Affluent Travellers Lead the Way – The Opportunities & Challenges
Rajan Datar
Anshul Shah
Sanjar Imam
Amit Kalsi
5:45 PM IST (GMT+5.30 hrs)
Getting to the Heart of Hospitality
Rajan Datar
Hemal Jain
Malik Fernando
6:40 P PM IST (GMT+5.30 hrs)
How to Put Together the Ultimate Trip
Rajan Datar
Fulvio De Bonis
Janne Honkanen
Speakers
Sheetal Rastogi
Founder Luxury Tribe India & Editorial Director, World Travel Magazine
Sheetal Rastogi is the co-founder of ‘Luxury Tribe’ and Editorial Director of ‘World Travel Magazine’. With over 22 years of experience, she has held leadership & management roles in media, publishing & technology businesses in the United Kingdom, India and Singapore.
Sheetal launched World Travel Magazine in Southeast Asia in 2009 and is set to bring a dedicated edition of the luxury publication to India in May 2022. Her passion for travel has inspired her to co-found World Travel Magazine and now Luxury Tribe.
She has been Singapore Ambassador and one of the Initiative Member for Global Wellness Day. Sheetal is an Alumni of the University of Strathclyde and Miranda House, University of Delhi.
Sharanjit Leyl
International Broadcast Journalist
Sharanjit Leyl is an experienced broadcaster who’s spent a quarter of a century with international news channels such as the BBC, Bloomberg Television, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She anchored from the BBC’s Singapore and London studios for the BBC World News channel and filed reports for radio on the BBC World Service and wrote for BBC News online. She regularly anchored live on location for on breaking stories in the region such as Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Singaporean by birth, Sharanjit presented and produced documentaries for the BBC including ‘Singapore at 50’, and ‘Secrets of Singapore’. Noteworthy interviews include the Prime Ministers of Canada, Thailand, Pakistan, and New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, Presidents of the Philippines, the World Bank and the IMF, and chief executives from companies ranging from Microsoft to Walmart. She’s now such a familiar face of business for viewers in Asia that she is regularly invited to moderate high-level debates for the United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, the ADB, and other NGOs. At the Asian TV Awards in 2017, she was highly commended as the best anchor and won the Best News Programme for ‘Newsday’ for an episode she presented.
Rajan Datar
The Travel Show Host, BBC World News
Award-winning, versatile & well-known broadcaster, journalist, moderator (and musician) spanning three decades of current affairs, arts, business, and documentary presenting, reporting, and producing for the BBC. Moderator of numerous around the world from Brazil to Bulgaria in travel and the arts including UNWTO, WTTC, Cheltenham Literary Festival, and the Hay Literary Festival over the last 20 years.
Amit Kalsi
Founder, Experiential Travel Journeys Pvt. Ltd.
Amit has been in the travel & tourism business for over 29 years. An MBA in International Marketing and an alumni of Delhi Public School and FORE School of Management, Amit joined the Travel and Tourism industry at an early age way back in 1993. After having served Abercrombie & Kent for close to 4 years, it was in 2014 when he decided to pursue his passion to a more specialised role and launched Experiential Travel Journeys Pvt. Ltd. as a provider of high-end experiential tailor-made travel to destinations worldwide and serve discerning travellers who are seeking farther, deeper, engaging and meaningful travel, with personalised services and attention to detail.
Sanjar Imam
Founder Director, Panache World
Ambitions to ‘travel the world and learn’ lead him to into entering the travel industry three decades ago. Today, not only does he travel extensively and learn but through his enterprise ‘Panache World’ he also designs and orchestrates trips for others with a certain passion and a distinct panache. His experience range from having organised and lead spiritual journeys in Tibet and Egypt to managing round-the-world trip on private jet and from having managed logistics for the British Royal Family to elaborate destination weddings. From having started as ‘India for Indians’, Panache World today organises curated trips to over 80 countries across the world. Nurturing and steering Panache World is his passion.
Anshul Shah
Partner , All 4 Seasons
We are amongst the top luxury travel providers in India and are a part of Traveller Made. We are also preferred partners with LHW (The Leading Hotels of the World), Jumeirah Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels, Preferred Hotels Partner, Stars and Luminous of Marriott Hotels, Hyatt Prive, Diamond club of Dorchester Collection Hotels, Address Hotels and lot more luxury hotels.
Rakhee Lalvani
Consultant – Indian Hotels Company Limited , Founder – RLA Communications
Three decades of experience in sales, marketing, and communications with IHCL; that is also known as Taj Hotels. Last Position as of 31st March 2022 Vice President Public Relations & Corporate Communications, for Indian Hotels Company Limited worldwide. Currently a consultant with them handling their Diversity and Inclusion and other projects, working with the CEO. Moved to this role in 2010 and have since built and integrated the Corporate Communications Department from ground up to meet needs of senior management and business heads with executing the Company’s corporate and business strategies, in addition to handling PR on a global scale; besides Taj, for other brands like Vivanta, SeleQtions, Ginger, with a total portfolio size of over 225 hotels which includes fifty-five projects under development. I have recently been given the additional responsibility of driving IHCL’s Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.
Tekla Maira
Founder , And The Story Continues
Years of being in the hospitality industry, privileged to be part of some of the most prestigious brands, like The Oberoi Group, ITC Hotels and more recently Fairmont, Raffles & the other luxury brands of Accor; travelling thorough unique locations ,the opportunity to create stories and more importantly learning how to tell them…. All these years have turned moments into memories! Memories I will cherish for all my life. With all this behind me I thought it was perhaps time to metaphorically hang up my boots which is what I did mid 2021. However destiny as always paves a path for me and a second innings came my way as I had the opportunity to represent a cluster of Banyan Tree Branded hotels in Thailand. In keeping with the theme of things I decided to call my company ‘And The Story Continues’ and so it does. 5 months down the path creating success for Banyan tree Bangkok, Bangkok Phuket, Angsana Laguna Phuket, Cassia Phuket & Homm Bliss Southbeach Patong I could not contain my excitement at being appointed the representative in India for Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi. It is like a return to my Alma Mater!
Christine Galle‐Luczak
Founder & Managing Director, Heavens Portfolio
Having spent more than twenty four years in Asia, this captivating continent never ceases to amaze Christine. In 1999, having successfully led the expansion for a satellite office of an acclaimed Singapore organization in Bali, Indonesia, Christine was appointed the Director of Sales & Marketing at Chiva‐Som, Thailand, in 2001 ‐ 2005. This enriching environment is where Christine prompted the conception of an independent business venture that would fuse her former experience and expertise. She was keen on providing personal marketing strategies for truly extraordinary travel destinations. As a result, Heavens Portfolio was launched in July 2005 in Singapore and quickly grew to be the leader in Hotel and destination representation in Asia with 17 satellite offices where 42 team members are currently providing their expertise to a portfolio of 40 hotels amongst them are Cheval Blanc, Armani, Belmond, Oetker, Chiva-Som and many more iconic hotels.
Janne Honkanen
Founder , Luxury Action & Octola Private Wilderness
Janne Honkanen runs Luxury Action, an individual whose efforts have directly influenced the development of the experiential travel movement – a true innovator whose commitment, curiosity and daring nature have set new standards for the industry at large. Janne Honkanen founded the company in 2009 and has proven to be a true trendsetter in experimental travel. His enthusiasm, innovative mind and never-ending curiosity have made what Luxury Action is today – a creator of entirely new travel experiences. Since nature is the most important aspect of all adventures here in Lapland, sustainability plays a part in all that we do here in the Arctic. We create tours with a balanced mix of traditional, modern, sophisticated and ecological luxury travel aspects. We marvel at innovative new luxury, combining authentic environment and eco-luxury to high-end hospitality.
Hemal Jain
General Manager , Alila Villas Uluwatu
Hemal’s passion for defining and delivering the authentic meaning of luxury hospitality is in his DNA. He believes that the modern-day luxury traveler is looking for sustainability in travel and to contribute in some form or other to the environment and community. “Nothing unites the world like travel, and nothing more so than #travelwithpurpose – taking the opportunity to experience cultures and interact with communities on a more meaningful and positively impactful level.” Hemal is currently leading the team at Alila Villas Uluwatu which has received many prestigious awards and accolades, with the most recent being the top 5 resorts in Indonesia, Top 15 resorts in Asia, and Top 100 Hotels in The World by Travel and Leisure World Best Awards 2022.
Malik Fernando
Director, Dilmah Tea, Managing Director, Resplendent Ceylon
Malik is a Director of Dilmah Tea. Established by Merrill J. Fernando; Dilmah, named after his two sons Dilhan and Malik, was the first producer-owned tea brand, offering tea ‘picked, perfected and packed at origin. Dilmah is founded on a passionate commitment to quality and authenticity in tea, it is also a part of a philosophy that goes beyond commerce in seeing business as a matter of humanservice. 15% of earnings are directed to social justice and the environment through the MJF Charitable Foundation and Dilmah Conservation. Malik is also the Managing Director of Resplendent Ceylon, the first Sri Lankan luxury resort brand. This “best of Sri Lanka” circuit features three distinctively original resorts, connected by a thread of peerless service. Ceylon Tea Trails, Wild Coast Tented Lodge and Cape Weligama are the sole SriLankan members of Relais & Chateaux, the global fellowship of individually owned & operated luxury hotels and restaurants. Three more resorts are in development. Mr Fernando spearheaded the Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance to mobilize the private tourism sector to actswiftly and strategically, with one voice under the Love Sri Lanka banner.He is also a director of SriLankan Airlines.
Fulvio De Bonis
CEO & Founder of Imago Artis Travel
Fulvio De Bonis is the CEO & Founder of Imago Artis Travel, an elite boutique destination management outfit specializing in bespoke experiences for travelers to discover the incomparable treasures of Italy. Fulvio’s strength is his creativity, which he puts at the service of his team and his prestigious guests. Challenges are the fuel of his actions. What he is and what he represents is shown by the successes of Imago Artis. Fulvio studied Art History at Sapienza University in Rome and after some experiences in London in the hotellerie field, in 2007, together with his partners Alessia and Chiara, he founded Imago Artis Travel: with fun, genuine and authentic touch, they turn ideas into life and through their endless imagination they have become known and appreciated among high profile guests such as Jeff Bezos, Keanu Reeves and Angelina Jolie, just to name a few.