June 26, 2014
Aman at Summer Palace
Luxury tour operator Remote Lands is inviting consumers to a private jet trip Oct. 4-21 through China, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka.
A curated itinerary covers historic destinations, and throughout the trip guests will stay at eight Aman Resorts properties. Private tours are becoming an increasingly competitive field and established players have to find new ways to differentiate themselves.
"To go to these eight properties and fly commercially would be very difficult with many different stops, and this tour makes it much more seamless," said Catherine Heald, co-founder and CEO of Remote Lands, New York. "It would be nearly impossible logistically to replicate this tour.
"Additionally, as this tour travels over four countries, travelers really get to immerse themselves in four very different cultures," she said.
"This tour grants private access in a special way that other tours wouldn’t with certain places inaccessible to the public. Participants meet people they would never otherwise meet, and have the benefit of learning from special experts."
Sea and land
The trip across Asia will host 18 guests and tickets start at $49,950 per person. Expert guides will accompany guests throughout the tour to explain the cultural significance of destinations.
To create a sense of continuity and minimize the time spent re-orienting, guests will only stay at Aman Resorts properties.
The first stop on the tour is a three-day stay in Beijing, where guests will listen to traditional Chinese music, walk along the Great Wall and visit the Forbidden City, among other activities.
Days four and five bring guests to Hangzhou. Here, guests will learn about China's tea culture from cultivation to preparation.
Guests will stay at Amanresort Amanfayun in Hangzhou
The first country-crossing takes guests to the cities Thimpu and Paro in Bhutan for four days. Guests will spend time at the 400-year old Cheri Monastery, the National Textile Museum, the cliffside Tiger's Next monastery, while traversing the serene countryside.
Thimpu, Bhutan
Days 10 to 13 take place in India, where guests will learn about the local art in Alwar, interact with villagers, visit the Ranthambore National Park and engage in various other activities.
Alwar, India
Finally, travelers head to Sri Lanka for the final five days of the excursion. In Sri Lanka guests will spend substantial time unwinding by the sea.
Tangalle, Sri Lanka
Interested consumers can learn more about the tour here.
"Aman Resorts is a boutique ultra-luxury hotel company and Remote Lands is a boutique ultra-luxury tour operator and as they cater to same audience, a partnership between the two seemed natural," Ms. Heald said.
"They have also co-marketed in the past on other initiatives and have found great success," she said. "With Aman Resorts being leading properties in both Asia and the world, having only Aman Resorts on this trip made it extra special.
"Additionally, they chose four countries in Asia that are all very different, but fit together very well. They wanted travelers to have a one-of-a-kind, unique experience with the opportunity to experience and immerse themselves in four very different cultures and eight different properties, with the best of everything. The private jet experience also added another unique layer of luxury to the trip."
Travel with us
Many reputable brands are entering the private tour space to capitalize on the interest among luxury consumers.
For instance, The New York Times expanded its travel program to include 21 land-based tours that further cement its position as an arbiter of taste and evinces the publisher’s push for extra streams of revenue.
The Times Journeys feature various destinations and are split between “Luxury Travel,” “Active Travel” and “Focus On” to better accommodate the discerning interests of its readers. Travel partners Abercrombie & Kent, Mountain Travel Sobek and Academic Travel Abroad have joined the brand to help tailor the tours (see story).
Also, fractional jet ownership company Flexjet offered ultra-affluent travelers a chance to visit destinations from Hong Kong to Istanbul in curated forays over a 14-day period.
“Passport to the World” aimed to bring together families or groups up to eight seeking a unique holiday experience and was curated with the help of luxury adventure travel brand Abercrombie & Kent and air carrier Jet Solutions. The $1.5 million package streamlined the transitional requirements between countries to ensure that the most time was spent absorbing new experiences (see story).
While many multi-week tours emphasize the originality of itineraries, tour-purveyors must remember that travelers also want plenty of leisure time.
"Guests on this tour are able to meet other interesting people but also have a lot of privacy," Ms. Heald said. "Daytime touring is mainly private but at night everyone comes together for fabulous dinner parties.
Final Take
Joe McCarthy, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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