ILLUME 2025

Inside the World of Luxury: Trends, Influence, and the Future of Affluent Travel in India

ILLUME 2025 examines how India’s unprecedented expansion of wealth is reshaping the global luxury landscape — from travel to retail, from culture to craftsmanship.

As India’s affluent population grows not only in size but in sophistication, their behaviours, expectations, and spending power are redefining how luxury is created, experienced, and valued worldwide. Legacy markers are giving way to new expressions of identity, influence, and aspiration.

This edition explores India’s luxury transformation through multiple lenses: the forces fuelling wealth creation, how global brands and destinations are adapting to attract Indian travellers, how weddings have evolved into immersive luxury ecosystems, and how India’s elite are rewriting the codes of exclusivity.

ILLUME 2025 brings clarity to the shifts shaping aspiration in modern India — and to the influence India now exerts on global luxury.

The Setting:

Location: New Delhi, India

Venue: The Imperial, New Delhi

Access: By Invitation Only

Speakers

Global voices influencing the
future of luxury

Sanjay Arya

Founder & Travel Designer, KFT Corporation

Sanjay Arya is the founder of KFT Corporation, a luxury travel design company. Since 1993, he’s evolved from ticketing to creating ultra-bespoke experiences. In 2018, he launched Pureluxe Club for India’s most discerning travelers. Recognized for his deep expertise, Sanjay was awarded “Outstanding Expertise – Supplier Knowledge” in 2018 and nominated for “Most Creative Travel Designer” in 2023.

Vinitaa Rawat

Founder and Director, Amazing Vacations

Vinitaa Rawat is the founder of Amazing Vacations and a veteran of India’s travel industry with over 25 years of experience. From her early days at the AK Group to launching bespoke luxury verticals, Vinitaa blends deep market insight with creative storytelling to craft trendsetting travel experiences.

Radhika Khanijo

Founder & Private Travel Designer, Welgrow Travels

Radhika Khanijo is the founder of Welgrow Travels, a boutique firm renowned for designing high-touch, deeply personalized global itineraries. With a refined sense of luxury and evolving traveler needs, she curates immersive journeys that reflect sophistication, privacy, and purpose.

Loveleen Multani Arun

Director, Panache World

Loveleen is the co-founder of Panache World and one of India’s most respected luxury travel advisors. With a career spanning the Taj Group, The Imperial, and Cox & Kings, she blends hands-on destination knowledge with long-term industry relationships. Her strength lies in staying ahead of luxury trends and delivering exceptionally curated travel experiences. Recognized by global networks like Traveller Made, Loveleen continues to redefine personalized luxury through her deep insight and frequent global engagement.

Divya Chadha

Director, A Klass Apart

Divya Chadha, founder of A Klass Apart, is one of India’s most trusted luxury wedding consultants. With 20+ years of global experience, she’s planned spectacular events from Italian castles to private Thai islands. A media favourite and frequent speaker, Divya is known for her directness, detail, and destination savvy.

Bhavnesh Sawhney

Co-founder, FB Celebrations Pvt. Ltd

Bhavnesh Sawhney is co-founder of FB Celebrations, one of India’s premier luxury wedding companies. With a flair for creativity and experience curating high-profile events, Bhavnesh has worked with clients like Sonam Kapoor and hosted performances by global icons such as JLo, Jay Z, and Chris Martin. His approach blends design with executional finesse, making him a go-to name in bespoke wedding experiences.

Pritish Shah

Founder & CEO, A Travel Duet

Pritish Shah is the founder of A Travel Duet, a boutique travel firm known for designing emotionally resonant, bespoke journeys for couples. His concept revolutionized romantic travel in India by offering thoughtfully curated experiences rather than generic itineraries. With a passion for personal connection and storytelling, Pritish ensures every trip feels intimate, elevated, and once-in-a-lifetime. A Travel Duet has become a go-to brand for those seeking deeply memorable couple-focused travel worldwide.

Nagsri Sashidhar

Chief Happiness Officer, NAGSRI – Creating Special Memories

Nagsri Sashidhar is the founder of NAGSRI – Creating Special Memories, a boutique travel studio focused on intimate, lesser-known luxury experiences. Known as the Chief Happiness Officer, Nagsri curates soul-stirring journeys that prioritize authenticity, joy, and connection over convention.

Sanjar Imam

Founder Director, Panache World

Sanjar Imam is the founder of Panache World, crafting distinctive, experiential journeys across 80+ countries. With 30+ years in luxury travel, his expertise ranges from spiritual journeys in Tibet to private jet tours and royal logistics. Sanjar’s work reflects a rare combination of precision and flair, and he remains deeply hands-on in curating each journey with personalized attention. From elaborate destination weddings to ultra-custom itineraries, he brings a lifetime of learning, curiosity, and impeccable execution to luxury travel design.

Neville Tuli

Founder Trustee, Tuli Research Centre for India Studies

Neville Tuli is a writer, archivist, and educator who founded the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies. After 30 years of dedicated cultural preservation, he has opened one of the most extensive multimedia archives on Indian arts and society—designed to transform global understanding and education around India.

Louis Sailer

Senior Executive Vice President, The Imperial New Delhi

Louis Sailer is a globally respected luxury hotelier and Senior EVP at The Imperial New Delhi. With a career spanning continents, Louis is known for elevating service standards and curating deeply personalized guest journeys. His leadership reflects timeless elegance, innovation, and unwavering service excellence.

Vandana Mohan

Founder, The Wedding Design Company

Vandana Mohan is the founder of The Wedding Design Company, credited with globalizing the grandeur of Indian weddings. With over 30 years of experience and events hosted across 35+ international destinations, Vandana has worked with elite clientele to deliver immersive, experience-first celebrations that define luxury wedding design.

Penny Rafferty

Executive Chair, Luxury Lodges of Australia

Penny Rafferty is the Executive Chair of Luxury Lodges of Australia and a leading voice in experiential travel. She helped shape Australia’s luxury travel identity by uniting independently owned lodges under one narrative. Penny also spearheaded Tourism Australia’s premium and sustainability strategies, making her a respected changemaker in sustainable tourism development and global destination branding.

Judith Lagat

Commercial Director, Cheli & Peacock Safaris

Judith Lagat brings over three decades of experience in African tourism to her role as Commercial Director at Cheli & Peacock Safaris. Her sharp analytical approach, customer focus, and regional expertise have made her a key force in shaping sustainable, high-end travel experiences across East Africa.

Ashish Sanghrajka

President, Big Five Tours & Expeditions

Ashish Sanghrajka leads Big Five Tours & Expeditions, a globally respected experiential travel company covering 44 destinations. Known for pioneering sustainable adventure travel, Ashish is deeply involved with the WTTC, Virtuoso’s Sustainability Council, and Family Travel Association. His leadership is defined by a bold commitment to innovation, ethics, and curated impact in luxury travel.

Sridhar Keppurengan

Head of Cross Border payments – India and South Asia, Visa

Sridhar leads Cross Border payments for VISA in India and South Asia and has over 20 years of experience in financial services, fintech, payments, and consulting both globally and in India. He likes to describe himself as an entrepreneurial business leader focused on driving high growth though New Business / Product development, Data analytics and Partnerships.

Manoj Adlakha

SVP & Country Manager – India Business; CEO, American Express Banking Corp., India

Manoj Adlakha leads American Express in India with over 30 years of experience. As CEO, he oversees the growth strategy, premium segment leadership, and a team of 800+ across 15 cities. Known for his deep expertise in financial services, he has held leadership roles in risk, strategy, marketing, and global commercial business. Recognized with awards like the American Express Chairman’s Award and WCRC’s Most Trusted CEO, he’s also among the top names in Indian luxury. His vision has helped Amex remain a strong player in India’s evolving premium financial market.

Sheetal Rastogi

Co-founder & Editorial Director, Luxury Tribe India & World Travel Magazine

Sheetal Rastogi is the co-founder of Luxury Tribe and Editorial Director of World Travel Magazine. With 22+ years in media and publishing across the UK, India, and Singapore, she launched World Travel Magazine in Southeast Asia and is now bringing it to India. An alumna of the University of Strathclyde and Miranda House, Sheetal has been an ambassador for Global Wellness Day and is known for her editorial foresight and passion for luxury travel. Her leadership combines deep storytelling with strategic insight into evolving luxury markets.

THE EXPERIENCE

An Intelligence-Led Forum

ILLUME operates as an editorial forum— guided by intelligence, interpretation, and informed perspective.

ILLUME 2025 focuses on the deeper forces influencing India’s luxury evolution, examining how wealth, culture, and identity are converging to shape global influence.

Through carefully structured conversations and insight-driven exchange, the forum examines:

The momentum behind India’s expanding luxury economy and its impact across global markets
How destinations, hospitality brands, and experience creators are recalibrating offerings for India’s affluent traveller
The emergence of weddings as immersive luxury ecosystems, where craft, creativity, and storytelling converge
The shifting codes of exclusivity — how India’s wealthy define meaning, rarity, and aspiration today

ILLUME does not pursue trends.
It interprets the movements shaping the future of luxury.