We Used to Visit Grandmothers. Now We Visit Resorts.
From 'Native Place' to Infinity Pools: How India Learned to Vacation
By Shashi Bellamkonda | December 28, 2025
The air here in Kumarakom is heavy, not just with the humidity of the Kerala backwaters, but with a specific kind of silence that you only find in places designed for deep rest. I am sitting at the Kumarakom Lake Resort, watching a houseboat drift languidly past the infinity pool. It is a scene of absolute luxury.
But what strikes me most isn't the water or the heritage architecture. It is the voices around me. They are speaking Malayalam, Kannada , Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. There are accents from Mumbai boardrooms and Bangalore tech parks.
Decades ago, this scene would have been impossible. The chairs would have been filled with tourists from Europe or America, reading paperbacks and turning pink in the tropical sun. Today, the demographics of leisure have shifted entirely. India has finally learned to be a tourist in its own home.
The Summer of the 'Native Place'
Growing up, "vacation" was a word we read in books, not something we did. In my childhood, summer meant one thing: the pilgrimage to the "Native Place." For us, that was our ancestral home in Telangana. We didn't stay in hotels. We didn't look for "experiences." We went to be with family, to endure the heat, to eat mangoes, and to sleep on terrace floors under mosquito nets.
The concept of paying a stranger to sleep in a room for pleasure was alien. Hotels were for business trips or emergencies. Hospitality was the duty of aunts and grandmothers, not a service you purchased.
The View from the Service Side
My perspective shifted when I entered the workforce. My first job was at the Taj Fisherman's Cove in Chennai. Suddenly, I was on the other side of the curtain. I saw firsthand that India had world-class hotels—properties that rivaled anything in Paris or London.
But back then, the business model was singular: cater to the plane loads of foreign tourists landing in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, and Goa. We were selling the "exotic East" to the West. The marketing, the food, and the service standards were all calibrated for an international palate. Domestic tourists were an afterthought, mostly because there weren't enough of them willing to pay luxury rates.
The Domestic Savior
Fast forward to today, December 2025. Talking to hotel managers here in Kerala and across the country, a consistent story emerges. When the pandemic shut down international borders, the Indian hospitality industry stared into the abyss. But then, something remarkable happened. The domestic market stepped up.
The upwardly mobile Indian—who previously would have flown to Thailand, Bali, or Switzerland without a second thought—started looking at Coorg, Udaipur, and Kumarakom. They discovered homestays, a concept that has exploded from simple spare rooms to boutique experiences that rival five-star properties.
This wasn't just a stopgap; it was a permanent behavioral shift. The industry has been saved, quite literally, by its own citizens.
Global Pricing, Local Wallets
However, this self-sufficiency comes with a caveat. The prices at luxury properties like the Kumarakom Lake Resort are global. You are paying rates that would get you a very nice room in Europe. The weak Rupee against the Dollar doesn't seem to discount the domestic experience; if anything, the high demand from Indian travelers has kept prices firm.
There is a complex economic truth here. On one hand, it is wonderful to see Indian money circulating within the Indian economy, supporting local staff, chefs, and artisans. It is a sign of a robust, self-sufficient nation. On the other hand, it highlights the stark divide in our economy. These experiences are accessible to a growing middle and upper class, but they remain a distant dream for the vast majority.
Coming Home
As I watch the sun set over Vembanad Lake, I feel a sense of optimism. We have moved beyond the "Native Place" obligation. We have learned to value leisure, to appreciate our own landscapes, and to demand world-class service in our own languages.
We aren't just visiting India anymore; we are experiencing it.
Where is the best place you've stayed within India recently? Has your definition of a "vacation" changed since the pandemic?
Comments