ILLUME 2024 AGENDA
India’s Wealth Surge: A Paradigm Shift in Luxury Consumerism
Sheetal Rastogi
Sheetal Rastogi is the founder of ‘Luxury Tribe’ and Editorial Director of ‘World Travel Magazine’. With over 23 years of experience, she has held leadership & management roles in media, publishing & technology businesses in Singapore and India.
Sheetal launched World Travel Magazine in Southeast Asia in 2009 & in India in 2024. Her passion for travel has inspired her to co-found World Travel Magazine and now Luxury Tribe.
Rajan Datar
Award-winning, internationally recognised travelogue broadcaster, writer, conference moderator and speaker – and globe trotting musician too – spanning three decades. Has been lucky enough to enjoy some of the most authentic and unusual experiences from wrestling in the Gobi desert to playing live on stage in New Orleans to abseiling in the favelas of Rio. Most recently he’s made travel shows in Azerbaijan Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.
Topic: The evolving Indian luxury market & changing consumer expectations.
Abhay Gupta
Founder & CEO, Luxury Connect & Luxury Connect Business School
Abhay Gupta is a luxury retail and brand strategy expert, named as one of India’s top 100 men of luxury. He has won several recognitions across India, SEA, and GCC regions and is the Luxury Retail Icon of India. He created Luxury Connect Business School as India’s first and only luxury business school and consults brands, businesses, and start-ups across strategy, compliance, talent upskilling, training, and development.
Topic: The State of Luxury in India
Moderator: Rajan Datar, International Broadcast Journalist
March 11th, 2024
Duration: 45 mins
Panel:
Abhay Gupta
Founder & CEO, Luxury Connect & Luxury Connect Business School
Abhay Gupta is a luxury retail and brand strategy expert, named as one of India’s top 100 men of luxury. He has won several recognitions across India, SEA, and GCC regions and is the Luxury Retail Icon of India. He created Luxury Connect Business School as India’s first and only luxury business school and consults brands, businesses, and start-ups across strategy, compliance, talent upskilling, training, and development.
Abhijit Das
Head of marketing, Delhi Duty Free Services
Abhijit Das serves as the Head of Marketing for Delhi Duty Free, the largest duty-free business in the ISC. With over 20 years of experience, Abhijit is a seasoned expert in Travel Retail, Lifestyle, and Luxury retail. Under Abhijit’s leadership, Delhi Duty Free has been honored at numerous international forums, including the Frontier Airport Retailer of the Year and Sustainability Initiative awards.
Topic: Global Footprints: Charting the Rise of Indian Luxury Travellers
Moderator: Rajan Datar, International Broadcast Journalist
March 11, 2024
Duration: 45 mins
Panel:
Craig Adamson
Managing Director Aisa Pacific (Excl. China), Leading Hotels of the World
Craig Adamson is the Managing Director Asia Pacific (excl. China) of Leading Hotels of the World. Craig brings with him over 28 years of experience in the luxury hotel industry. In his role, Craig oversees all aspects of the Sales organisation in APAC (ex. China) for Leading Hotels of the World, ensuring that their 400+ member hotels are supported with high value revenue generation across the segments of Travel Trade, Group, Corporate and LHW’s loyalty program, Leaders Club.
Satyajeet Krishnan
Area General Manager North Taj Hotels & Resorts
Satyajeet Krishnan is an accomplished leader in the Indian hospitality industry with over thirty years of experience at The Indian Hotels Company Limited . He possesses a deep knowledge of luxury hospitality operations along with a strong business acumen and has worked closely with sales, marketing and guest experience oriented projects.
Topic: Luxury Beyond Definition
Moderator: Rajan Datar, International Broadcast Journalist
March 11, 2024
Duration: 45 mins
Panel:
Penny Rafferty
Executive Chair, Luxury Lodges of Australia
Penny Rafferty is Executive Chair, Luxury Lodges of Australia and has led the association since it was established in January 2010. This collective voice of independently owned and operated lodges and camps across Australia helped shape and define Australia’s high-end experiential travel. Penny led the development of Tourism Australia’s Sustainability strategy 2020-2023 and continues as Sustainability Advisor for this approach. Penny led the development of Tourism Australia’s premium and luxury strategy 2017-2020.
Carissa Nimah
Chief Marketing Officer at Bhutan Tourism
Carissa Nimah is the Chief Marketing Officer for the Department of Tourism – Bhutan, responsible for the ongoing development, promotion and positioning of tourism in the Himalayan Kingdom. Prior to moving to Bhutan, Carissa was based in Asia for eight years and was the Guardian of the Brand (Chief Commercial Officer) for a global luxury hospitality brand with resorts in Thailand and the Maldives, where she oversaw their sales, marketing, revenue and reservations teams globally.
Topic:Expanding desires of Indian affluent travellers.
Moderator: Rajan Datar, International Broadcast Journalist
March 11, 2024
Duration: 45 mins
Panel:
Bhavnesh Sawhney
Founder – FB Celebrations
Bhavnesh Sawhney co-founder at FB Celebrations, is a master at curating events that leave a lasting impression. Bhavnesh’s creativity and artistic flair are the driving forces behind FB Celebrations’ success. His entrepreneurial journey is a testament to his visionary approach to delivering bespoke events to esteemed clients for clients like Sonam Kapoor, Shriya Saran, and Nidhi Dutta, daughter of director JP Dutta and Bindya Goswami, as well as having international celebrities perform at events curated by him such as Jennifer Lopez, Nicole Scherzinger, Jay Z, and Chris Martin
Seema Kadam
Regional Director, India at Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Seema Kadam is a highly experienced travel industry professional with over 28 years of expertise in India. Throughout her career, she has worked with leading Indian travel players like Thomas Cook India, Kuoni Travels India, Finnair, Switzerland Tourism, and Tourism Fiji, and has established an exceptional pan-India travel network. Kadam holds a Standard and Advanced Travel Management IATA diploma and is highly skilled at developing and implementing business-driven and result-oriented strategies. With her strong product knowledge and business development strengths, she is well-equipped to navigate any micro or macro challenges during her tenure. Kadam is thrilled to represent Los Angeles, a destination that aligns with her personal values of cultural diversity and inclusivity.
About Illume, Luxury Tribe & World Travel Magazine:
Luxury Tribe is an exclusive, by-invitation-only marketplace that connects the world’s most renowned hospitality brands with India’s most sought-after yet hard-to-reach high-net-worth travellers. Organised by Southeast Asia’s leading luxury travel and lifestyle publication, World Travel Magazine, the exclusive three-day-event offers unprecedented access to India’s top travel designers and buyers while its conference component, ILLUME, offers ahead-of- the-curve, expert-led travel intelligence briefings and workshops.