A Life Of Leisure

Over the past three decades and across two generations, the Prasad family has mastered the art of dealing with uncertainties in leisure travel to unearth new possibilities

- VINITA BHATIA

Indians are a devout lot. They pray daily with ardent devotion, celebrate festivals with enthusiasm, and visit religious destinations whenever the opportunity presents itself.

A couple of years ago, religious tourism fell within the realm of elders in a family, while the younger generation shunned them, presuming them to be boring jaunts. Mukund Prasad, Director, Leisure Hotels Group (LHG) wanted to change this narrative. Why should a trip to a temple town be limited to visits to places of worship, he questioned?

He knew exactly what he was talking about and how the market needed to be smartly moulded in a different direction. For over four years, the hotel chain has been running camps for pilgrims at Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. While many associate these destinations with the Chaar Dham pilgrimage circuit, many remain unaware of the adventure, leisure and experiential opportunities that could engage the entire family.

Hence, it was natural for LHG to pivot into offering leisure, adventure, wilderness and spiritual experiences. After all, it is a crucial player in Uttarakhand’s hospitality sector with a strong portfolio of smart hotels, boutique resorts, luxury villas and bespoke camps in the state’s scenic destinations.

This move paid off rich dividends, especially during the pandemic months. The faithful started visiting temple towns with a vengeance and came with their extended families for some muchneeded downtime. Mukund said, “For us, in leisure destinations like Nainital, Corbett, Dharamshala and Rishikesh, domestic tourism has recorded a substantial recovery in 2021. We expect this surge to continue through H1 until June 2022. However, H2 is expected to return to normal business trends, allowing for a pricing correction.”

IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY