No lazing about. Now, holidays are busier than work days

You wake up at 7am for bird watching, run to the breakfast buffet to nibble at a dosa and a chocolate croissant before you head out for zip lining. As the evening sun melts away, a pottery class takes place, and dinner is accompanied by local musicians going to town on a dhol. While so much activity may not sound like everyone’s idea of fun, many Indian tourists prefer jam-packed itineraries to lazing on the beach or a hammock.

It is not that adventure holidays are new, but now they don’t just cater to the sporty set. Young travellers used to being on the go are constantly looking for more diversion, stimulation (and fodder for their Instagram) even when they’re on a vacay. Little wonder that hotels of all sizes are setting up designated “activity” departments, while travel start-ups and booking platforms are offering people everything from adventure sports to food trails, petting zoos where Gen Z-ers can milk cows to gilli-danda games.

Four Little Birds is a chain of boutique resorts with 25 properties, each of which has a signature activity attached to it, according to co-founder Rahul Samnol. “For instance, our

Palampur

property is near the river, so we take people fishing. Pangot,

Uttarakhand

specialises in bird watching, and we have also added watercolour painting to the mix there,” he says, adding that in Sariska, tiger safari takes a backseat to a fun family dangal.

Samnol argues that the trend is largely youth-driven but not just limited to millennials. “Even 50-plus customers have started becoming very interested in activities. They feel they had missed out on having access to such things when they were young. You see many between the ages of 40 and 60, cycling, doing yoga and opting for adventure sports on holiday,” he says. Only 35% of their guests prefer to laze and lounge about.

For the last four years, online booking portal Cleartrip has also listed activities guests can book on their website, while hotels like the Hyatt chain have set up dedicated activities departments. Arif Patel, Hyatt’s regional VP of sales and marketing, says their properties offer interesting experiences like farm-to-table cooking classes in Bishangarh and guided cycling tours in Delhi.

Rakkh, a luxury resort in Dharamshala, is a technology-free resort that’s all about going back to one’s roots. But they offer a bunch of activities like wall climbing, hikes and treks, archery, pottery, weaving and food-based experiences like Himachali communal feasts. In fact, activities are so central to the Rakkh experience, that even before you can see the home page on their website, they ask you to give them information to make a customised itinerary for you.
Dr Surabhi Munjal, director of business development at Rakkh, says the goal is to make an itinerary that keeps guests “so busy and involved that they completely forget that there is no WiFi or TV in their rooms”.

Many activity-oriented resorts try to facilitate conversations, different from dinner-table ones, between families by putting them in unusual group situations. Surjivan Resort is a 50-acre property near Manesar, a stone’s throw from Delhi, and their original idea was one of “being rather than becoming,” director Rohini Gambhir says. “After a few years, we realised that people are wired differently nowadays. They need activities or they feel like they’re staying in a dead place.”

That’s why they’ve introduced sports like badminton, cricket, gilli-danda and even carrom and tambola. They also let people pay extra if they want to run a

paintball

game or call a local potter for a class. A lot of corporates avail of their services for team-building and relaxation. “They tend to fill their days with any and every activity they can find. Sometimes I have to tell guests to slow down, because they’re just going to go home exhausted,” Gambhir says.
Travel start-up Wandertrails collaborates with homestays, tour guides and adventure experts, and even big hotel chains to create unique experiences for tourists. Co-founder Narayana Menon K says, “Millennials are done with regular vacations — they want to experience unique things.”

Gambhir agrees — she’s seen first-hand that when you don’t offer young people experiences, your resort turns into a party destination, with loud music and empty beer bottles competing to pollute your property. “This generation is more into experiencing rather than going and chilling somewhere. They have the money to spend on recreation, and love telling stories of adventures they’ve had.”