The Newsletter from the Creative Travel Family of Brands
Dear Industry Colleagues,
Welcome to another edition of 'Creatively Yours'.
April has a way of arriving before you're ready for it. As the high season winds down, the pace softens, and India feels a little more like itself again. This is the shoulder season, and honestly, it's one of the best times to travel. This year has been kinder than most: the heat hasn't fully set in yet, and a few good spells of rain have kept things cooler than April usually promises.
We also have some wonderful news to share. We are honoured to be nominated once again at the prestigious 33rd World Travel Awards, this time in three categories: India's Leading Destination Management Company 2026, India's Leading Luxury Travel Agency 2026, and India's Leading Experiential Holiday Company 2026. Your support means the world to us. You'll find the voting links in our Creative in the News section and across our social platforms.
In this month's edition, we travel to Karnataka’s coast, where SwaSwara sits on Om Beach in Gokarna. It is a wellness sanctuary by CGH Earth where Ayurveda, yoga, and a deep attentiveness to mind, body, and soul shape every day. It is the kind of place that asks nothing of you except that you slow down.
Moving north, for Cool Location, we spotlight Abheygarh: a royal retreat rising from the golden lands of Shekhawati, carved in Jaisalmer stone and set against a forested hillside. It's the sort of place that feels far removed from everything, in the best possible way.
April is generous with its festivals. Baisakhi marks the harvest and the arrival of a new year across North India. Buddha Purnima honours the birth of Gautama Buddha. Up in Ladakh, the Apricot Blossom Festival is in full swing, with valleys flushing pink against mountains still dusted with snow. And in Kerala, Thrissur Pooram takes over the streets with elephants, drumming, and a level of spectacle that really does have to be seen.
In Iconic Things To Eat, we revisit one of Old Delhi's most beloved winter secrets: Daulat ki Chaat. A dessert born of cold moonlit nights, made from milk, cream, saffron, and dried fruits, churned for hours into a delicate foam that dissolves the moment it touches your tongue. It has vanished from the streets until winter returns, which makes it all the more worth remembering and planning a trip around.
In Indians Around the World, we turn to Amartya Sen, the economist and philosopher awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998 for his contributions to welfare economics.
We are also gearing up for key industry events, including IMEX Frankfurt. We look forward to reconnecting with industry friends and forging new partnerships that will shape the future of travel.
We are delighted to present our 2026 Be Our Guest portfolio to our partners. This allows you to experience not only India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, but also the legendary services that have made us what we are today. Many will copy us, but there is only one ‘Be our Guest‘.
As always, we continue to offer custom training and one-on-one strategy sessions for travel advisors and tour operators worldwide. To book a session, please write to us at knowledge@creative.travel with your details.
And finally, beyond this monthly newsletter, stay even more informed with our weekly updates through The South Asia Travel Journal.
Creative Travel and JungleSutra Make the Nominations at the 33rd World Travel Awards
Trust is not claimed. It is earned, quietly, over time. For 49 years, Creative Travel has been built on one simple promise, which is to never let a partner down. Not once. Not ever. It is a promise we intend to keep.
They say, “seeing is believing.”
Can words describe 3.2 million sq. kms. of the Indian subcontinent? Can pictures capture a terrain as diverse as lush green forests, golden deserts and the majestic Himalayan range?
Can stories tell you all you want to know about the complex cultures of the Indian people, their languages and dialects, their rituals and traditions? To feel their magic, be touched by her spirituality, experience her intensity or join in her celebrations, you have to be in India.
voco Hotels, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts, has opened voco Amritsar, introducing the brand to Punjab and expanding upscale hospitality in the historic city. Positioned close to Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, the hotel is designed to cater to both business and leisure travellers.
Guwahati Airport’s new terminal begins commercial operations
Commercial operations have commenced at the new terminal of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, expanding the airport’s annual passenger capacity to 13.1 million. The facility opened two months after its inauguration and marks a major infrastructure upgrade for Northeast India.The expansion strengthens Guwahati’s role as the region’s primary aviation gateway, supporting new routes, higher flight frequencies and improved international connectivity across South and Southeast Asia.
Radisson Hotel Group Brings Park Inn by Radisson to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
Radisson Hotel Group has expanded its central India portfolio with the launch of Park Inn by Radisson Jabalpur, its latest addition to a growing presence across Madhya Pradesh. Situated opposite Bargi Hills Colony and approximately 30 minutes from Jabalpur Airport.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands will come alive with surf culture as Little Andaman hosts a four-day Surfing Festival from 9–12 April at the iconic Butler Bay. Organised by the A&N Administration’s Tourism Department in association with the Surfing Federation of India, the event celebrates adventure and the islands’ rising identity as a surf destination.At the heart of the festival is the Little Andaman Pro 2026, the opening stop of the National Surf Series and a key qualifier on the road to the National Championship.
The Bar That Bottles Rajasthan: Dore Is Udaipur’s Most Exciting Opening Yet
Udaipur has no shortage of rooftop views, but Dore, the newest bar to open atop Manuscript Jhilwara Haveli, offers something rarer: a cocktail menu that reads like a love letter to Rajasthan. .
Bandipur, Nagarahole safaris resume under restricted operations
Safari services have restarted at Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka following a temporary suspension linked to concerns around human-wildlife conflict. The Forest Department has resumed operations with shorter durations and limits on vehicle numbers. The reopening offers relief to tourism businesses and local communities.
Cheetahs Roam from Kuno to Rajasthan in Natural Territorial Expansion
Two cheetahs from Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh have been tracked travelling 60–70 km into Baran, Rajasthan, a movement the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has described as natural territorial behaviour. The animals, KP2 and KP3, are among the first generation of cubs born in India, descended from African cheetahs translocated under Project Cheetah in 2022.Currently positioned about six kilometres apart on either bank of the Parvati River, both cheetahs are satellite-tracked and radio-collared, monitored around the clock by a joint inter-state field team.
Pugdundee Safaris Hosts Second Edition of Mahua Festival Across Central India Lodges
Pugdundee Safaris has announced the second edition of its Mahua Festival, running from April 1 to 5, 2026, across five of its jungle lodges in Central India: Kings Lodge and Tree House Hideaway in Bandhavgarh, Kanha Earth Lodge in Kanha, Pench Tree Lodge in Pench, and Denwa Backwater Escape in Satpura.
Once a year, on the full moon of Vaishakha, three of the most profound moments in Buddhist history are honoured at once: the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha. It is the holiest day of the Buddhist calendar, and across India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.
There is no festival in Kerala quite like Thrissur Pooram and arguably, nothing in India that matches its particular combination of devotion, spectacle, and sound. Every year on a single day in April, the ancient Vadakkunnathan Temple becomes the stage for one of the subcontinent’s great ritual gatherings. Ten temples converge at Thekkinkadu Maidanam, each arriving in procession with caparisoned elephants adorned in gold– nettipattam, gleaming silk parasols catching the light. Facing one another in two rival groups, Paramekkavu and Thiruvambady.
Ladakh in Bloom: Apricot Blossom Festival (8–16 April 2026)
For a few weeks each spring, before the high passes open and the summer crowds arrive, Ladakh belongs entirely to the apricot tree. Pink and white blossoms spread through the lower valleys in waves – Sham.
Baisakhi: A Harvest of Joy and Prosperity (14 April 2026)
Few festivals in India hold as many threads at once as Baisakhi. On the same day each April, Punjab celebrates the wheat harvest, marks the Sikh New Year, and honours one of the most defining moments in Sikh history, the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. That layering of joy, faith, and remembrance is what gives Baisakhi its particular depth.
Embark on an enchanting voyage through the illustrious history of Kochi with our Royal Heritage Trail. Delve into the captivating saga of the Cochin Royal Family, one of Kerala’s premier dynasties, whose profound influence continues to shape the region’s cultural ethos. Trace the storied origins of the Cochin Royal Family and their enduring impact on Kerala’s narrative, from their zenith of power to encounters with European colonial powers, and eventual assimilation into independent India.
Where Stillness Is the Whole Point: SwaSwara By CGH Earth
There are wellness retreats that offer spa menus, and then there are places that are genuinely built around rest. SwaSwara by CGH Earth, tucked into 26 acres of coastal gardens above Om Beach in Gokarna, belongs firmly to the latter.
A Palace Built for This Century, Rooted in Another: Abheygarh, Shekhawati
Shekhawati has long been Rajasthan’s quieter chapter, a region of painted havelis and unhurried desert towns that rewards those who venture beyond the well-worn circuit. Abheygarh, the newest property from Alsisar Hotels, gives it a landmark worthy of the detour.
Daulat ki Chaat: The Winter Dessert That Disappears Before Noon
If you have never heard of Daulat ki Chaat, you are not alone, and that is rather the point. This is a dessert that exists only in the cold months, only in the lanes of Old Delhi, and only until midday, when the foam it is made from quietly collapses. Miss the window, and you wait another year.
Amartya Sen: The Economist Who Taught the World to Measure What Matters
In 1998, when the Nobel Committee recognised Amartya Sen for his contributions to welfare economics, it was an acknowledgement of something that had already quietly reshaped how the world thought about poverty, freedom, and human dignity.
Fresh, vibrant, and quietly satisfying, this Ginger Chickpea Salad is a dish that celebrates simplicity with elegance. Tender chickpeas are tossed with crisp red and yellow peppers, finely diced onion, freshly grated ginger, and a bright squeeze of lemon, while cumin lends a gentle warmth that lingers beautifully on the palate.
Global Sales Offices: Creative Travel has network of sales teams around the world to assist you in your region. Specialists are available to assist you with information on leisure travel, special interest trips, corporate, meetings & incentive travel and wildlife products. For details please visit www.creative.travel/contacts
283, Udyog Vihar II, Gurugram, Haryana-122016, India T: +91124 4567 777 24 Hours Emergency Contact Number: +919911 266277
This is a formatted HTML email.If you receive it in a unreadable/garbled form,please let us know. To keep the message size low, some images are linked to the internet and would show only when you are on-line. If you would like to be removed from this mailing, please follow instructions at the bottom.This mailing is going out ot individuals we have met over the years or to people whose names have been obtained from various lists provided to us by various trade shows.We do not mean to be intrusive to anyone.
