From multi-million dollar genealogical quests to Northern Lights chases and Antarctic expeditions – these bespoke adventures represent a fraction of the experiences sought by ultra-wealthy travellers, with each journey curated to reflect highly bespoke details and individual preferences.
“To some, luxury would be just flying business class on Emirates from point A to point B. For others, it would not be less than travelling private,” said Abhishek Dadlani, Founder of Lushescapes in an exclusive interview with Arabian Business.
Redefining luxury travel eperiences
With ‘luxury’ being highly subjective for individuals, Dadlani saw the need to offer the service of curating highly personalised travel plans for ultra-high-net-worth individuals. The Dubai-based company has been serving clients with a net worth of over $50 million including several celebrities, legacy families and entrepreneurs for over 16 years.
“They are not the nouveau riche [new rich], they are people who understand the value, they have not made it overnight with crypto. That is our ecosystem,” he proudly said.
With a mission to transform luxury travel from a product-focused industry to one centred on experiences, Dadlani has witnessed a fundamental shift in client preferences. Today’s ultra-wealthy travellers are less concerned with securing rooms at luxury hotels and more focused on accessing one-of-a-kind experiences.
“They [travellers] did not understand the value proposition. For them it was just going to London and staying at Mayfair or at the Four Seasons Parklane and that was luxury,” he explained.
Over the years, the company has received several over-the-top requests from clients with some trips taking over six months to execute. However, he has observed that the perception of luxury travel has now evolved to experiences including cultural, art-specific, adventure, photography, wildlife and more.
“The amount of time and effort that we spend now in discussing accommodation is probably 10 per cent of the overall mechanism,” Dadlani said.
Ultra-rich custom journeys
One of the most daunting trips executed took over eight months to plan and involved coordination with several governments, retraction of archives and spanned ten countries over 45 days. It all started when Lushescapes was approached by a British family with an unusual trip request – a genealogical quest to discover the family’s heritage dating back five centuries.
A “special interest” project Dadlani called it.
Ultimately, through the 45-day journey, it was discovered that the family’s descendants were from a “tiny village” in Botswana, starting out as nomadic people. The trip involved coordination with the governments, geological departments, anthropology departments and more.
“His forefathers actually hailed from Africa and they were not really Caucasians. We actually traded back 250 years into history to find their lineage,” he explained.
The family was taken to experience ancestral habitats, food and living environments that they had evolved from. This journey, Dadlani believes, is an example of how the definition of luxury travel has evolved over the years.
“We are curating ultra-rich journeys, not in the dollar terms but what the family wants to get out of the travel experience,” he explained.
Arctic Expeditions are also in-demand among the wealthy clientele, Lushescapes has planned several arctic holidays that bypass the notorious Drake Passage crossing traditionally required to reach the continent of Antarctica. Instead, they establish private camps in the white desert for their clients.
“Passing the Drake is one of the worst nightmares that humans can actually do when they are on sea because it’s one of the roughest waters in the world. But up until 10 years ago, the only way to go to Antarctica was to pass the Drake, and people used to get sick, and those one and the half days was just a nightmare. So, when we started our Antarctica journeys, we want to basically cut this off completely,” he said.
“We’ve done a charter trip to Antarctica for a family where we actually chartered an [Airbus] A340,” Dadlani reveals. For approximately $1.5 million, 15 guests experienced not just luxury accommodation and private charters, but also unique interactions with US Navy personnel at the South Pole.
Future of luxury travel paths
Looking ahead, Dadlani anticipates more changes in luxury travel, especially with technology playing a growing role. Lushescapes plans to incorporate the use of VR to show clients “what their holiday is going to look like while they’re sitting on a couch in Dubai.”
For the future of luxury travel, Dadlani predicts that it will take one of two contrasting paths: a fully technology-driven experience or a complete retreat from technology.
On one end of the spectrum, he sees an increasing demand for tech-centric travel experiences, driven by curiosity about the latest advancements in AI, machine learning and fintech.
“People are now leaning towards tech-related trends. They want to understand the latest innovations,” he explained.
To meet this demand, Lushescapes is curating trips to tech hubs like Silicon Valley, where travellers engage with experts and explore how technology is reshaping the world. Interestingly, Dadlani emphasised that these trips are not about business but about gaining knowledge and inspiration.
On the opposite end, Dadlani has noticed a growing trend toward what he calls “silent travel” or wellness retreats, where the focus is on completely disconnecting from technology.
“People are coming to us wanting to completely shut off,” he said.
This trend caters not just to solo travellers but also to couples and families who wish to unplug from the digital world. Lushescapes has crafted experiences that require travellers to leave their phones behind – sometimes even before they leave Dubai.
During these retreats, communication is minimal and thoughtfully executed; for instance, on a recent private island getaway, guests communicated with the team through daily handwritten postcards instead of digital messages.
Dubai – The hub of luxury
Considering Lushescape’s ultra-wealthy client base, Dadlani believes that setting up in Dubai was the “best decision.”
“Everybody started to resonate with Dubai as a luxury hub and with Emirates Airline putting the city on a Global Map, it’s just phenomenal and gives us a great boost,” he said.
With Dubai facing rising levels of millionaires and billionaires relocating to the city, Dadlani anticipates a rise in demand for services. Most of the company’s clientele, he revealed, are “white Caucasians based in Dubai.”
In addition, Lushescapes observes high demand from families with multi-generational businesses, individuals with a net worth of over $50 million and those in the 50s age group. “Most of them are Europeans, Americans, South Americans, the Asian subcontinent and because I come from India some celebrities travel with me and we got some Arab clients as well,” he explained.
Dubai continues to see an increase in the relocation of millionaires and billionaires to the city, propelled by factors including golden visa, tax-friendly environment and luxury lifestyle offerings.
Looking ahead, Dadlani aims for expansion in the Middle East with a strong focus on Saudi Arabia. The company is also in talks for expansion in Singapore.
“If money was no object, if I had the means and if I was fit enough, I would definitely want to go to space,” he concluded.
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