Tag Archives: RARE India

RARE India will host the sixth edition of its annual signature event ‘The RARE Showcase’ at The Imperial New Delhi on 9th and 10th June 2023. Building bridges towards travel innovation since 2003, RARE India partners with some of the finest conscious and experiential owner-run hotels, retreats, lodges and camps spread across the Indian subcontinent, many of them off the usual tourist circuits. 35 such individual and stand-alone hotel brands from India, Nepal and Bhutan you will meet at The RARE Showcase 2023 to share authentic destination and people stories. Travel designers and tour operators from over 100 inbound and domestic travel companies from across India are expected to attend the event.  Regarding the line-up of hotels for the upcoming event, RARE India’s Founder Shoba Mohan said, “We renew our focus towards small owner-led brands vetted for authenticity and experience, from unknown wilderness to forgotten heritage conserved as combined efforts of pioneers who turned to travel and hospitality to celebrate the destination. We forged a map of the subcontinent, away from the known cliches to craft itineraries worthy of explorers. Constant inputs and iterations that we have received from our travel agent fraternity, industry peers, media as well as travelers have helped us create itineraries where none existed. Our Showcase dedicates itself to help inspire new product lines and reimagine novel routes. The RARE Showcase 2023 is set to inspire the fraternity to leave their comfort zones behind, to learn and explore further.” According to Rasmi Poduval, Founder, Cranganor History Café & Riverside Château, who will be participating in the RARE Showcase 2023, “Cranganor is a tiny resort tucked away in a sleepy village on the banks of the river Periyar in verdant Kerala. We intend to showcase …

Zhiwa Ling Heritage in Paro, which is one of Bhutan’s few Bhutanese-owned luxury hotels, has joined the RARE Community, which consists of some of the finest conscious luxury owner-run hotels, retreats, lodges and camps in the Indian subcontinent. Set on a 10-acres estate in the beautiful Paro Valley, Zhiwa Ling, meaning ‘Place of Peace’, is the first fully Bhutanese-owned 5-star hotel in Bhutan. Famed for its spectacular Bhutanese architecture, authentic experiences and sustainability endeavours, Zhiwa Ling Heritage blends traditional Bhutanese architecture with modern design. From its traditional Bhutanese architecture to its elegant temple made with 450-year-old timbers to its Swedish under-floor heating, Zhiwa Ling Heritage seamlessly combines past and present in all areas of operation. Over sixty local artisans worked on Zhiwa Ling’s interiors and design, featuring ornate wooden carvings, cornices, hand-knotted rugs, intricate stonework, local art and crafts. Regarding their association with RARE India, Zhiwa Ling Heritage’s Managing Director Mr Kezang Dorji said, “We are excited to announce our partnership with RARE India. As a hotel committed to authenticity and mindfulness, we believe that RARE’s focus on conscious travel and unique solutions aligns perfectly with our values. Through this partnership, we will have access to their specialized expertise, increase our efficiency and productivity, save costs, and reach out to new markets. We look forward to working together and offering our guests an even more exceptional experience.” RARE India is a sales & marketing, communications and PR company that focuses on telling compelling stories and building value along the chain – from stakeholders of the destinations to tour operators, curators and designers right down to the travellers – about stand alone, owner powered, authentic brands in the Indian subcontinent. The RARE Community hotels offer transformational experiences that create value for the …

Rare India has unveiled three new initiatives for sustainable living- RARE Travel Agency Network (RATAN), RARE Influencers Network (RAIN) and Beautiful Planet. The company is also open to partnership with travel agencies to promote a sustainable way of living.  

RARE India has launched a new entity called Peach, under which the team would work for new tourism products, fairs and events in terms of development, promotion and marketing. One of the first projects under Peach is Gobindgarh Fort, which was showcased in New Delhi for agents by erstwhile actress and developer behind the project, Deepa Sahi. She has produced and developed the shows at the fort. The fort belonged to Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab and showcases stories of his valour through 7D experiences and virtual reality wonders. Shoba Mohan and Sowmya Vijaymohan, Founder-Partners, RARE India and Peach, said that Peach would be focusing on handholding and developing new projects, events, fairs and experiences in the tourism space. Peach would be different from RARE as it will not be delving into the representation of boutique, independently owned properties, which fall into the RARE aesthetics.

The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), recently held its networking meeting in Delhi. Speaking at the event, Anup Nair, President, SITE said, “We have invited people from different fields of the industry. We are hoping to introduce SITE to them and bring the India chapter to limelight. We have 40 members in India, and with more people being aware of the value of this membership, I hope there will be more traction.” On the value of this membership, he said, “The value is in education in the field of incentive travel. Since incentive travel is such a powerful tool for driving business results. So incentive travel business results is what SITE is about, giving education to use incentive travel to drive business results.” Shoba Mohan, Founder-Partner, RARE India has been appointed as the Director Communication for SITE India chapter. She said, “When I learnt of what SITE does globally, it just seemed like the kind of things we love to do at RARE. We would be definitely doing the SITE members meet every month. SITE believes in a lot of education content, empowering people with a lot of knowledge based around incentives. That is something we will be focusing on.”  

The maiden edition of Très RARE recorded over 100 Indian destination management companies and 30 foreign tour operators from the UK, US, France, Germany and Italy. Instituted by RARE India, the event was a showcase of the finest boutique hotels, lodges, hideaways, camps and retreats in India, Nepal, and Bhutan that aimed to engage with the bespoke tour operators and media from India and overseas, alongside an eclectic mix of world travellers. Conducted over two days, the event focused on intensive one-on-one engagement, knowledge building and innovations. The close interactions with hotel owners and hosts were followed by 11 hosted familiarisation trips across India. The event also hosted speakers on hospitality and related topics to add value to the concept of experiential travel in the sub-continent. Sowmya R Vijaymohan, Partner at RARE India said, “This is probably the first green event where no plastic has been used, thus following the green document. It is a tribute to all the bespoke boutique hotels. These boutique hotels inspired us at RARE to break away from the traditional and create an intimate showcase that focuses on the niche rather than the mass and mainstream.” Some of the hotels which participated at Tres Rare were RAAS Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Bhainsrorgarh Fort, Rajasthan, Hotel Druk, Bhutan, Pepper Trail, Kerela, Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge, Nepal, Deccan Odyssey, etc.

Representation and marketing company, RARE has added four new hotel partners to it’s portfolio. “We are thrilled to introduce these fresh off the boat properties for the year 2016. Call us RARE 50 as we endeavor to be a curated collection of 50 of the most unique concept oriented properties,” says Sowmya R Vijaymohan, Partner, RARE India in a statement. These new properties are: Raas Devigarh, Udaipur and Khaas Bagh, Jaipur in Rajasthan; Rajakkad Estate, Palani Hills in Tamil Nadu; and Reni Pani Jungle Lodges, Satpura in Madhya Pradesh. 39-suites strong Raas Devigarh, Udaipur, is within the spectacular fort complex of Devigarh in a rural setting just under an hour, north of Udaipur. While Khaas Bagh, Jaipur (Raj.) is no more than a ten minute drive from the city of Jaipur. Built on the lines of a haveli, but spread out like a country home with large open terraces, courtyards, verandas, and offers 18 spacious suites. The Rajakkad Estate in Palani Hills (TN), just under a two hour drive from Madurai, is a unique homestay located on a 40 acre coffee and pepper plantation. Reni Pani is an elegant lodge focused on the wildlife experience, a short drive from the Tawa Reservoir. Stylish and spacious cottages, 12 of them are distributed for privacy on a varied landscape featuring grass lands, a seasonal nulla and a hearty tree cover allow animals, insects, reptiles and birds to flourish. The lodge manager, himself an avid birder captains a team of naturalists constantly trained under his supervision.