RARE India – a collection of some of the finest conscious luxury heritage palaces, boutique hotels, conservation based wildlife lodges, homestays and retreats of the Indian subcontinent, has responded by unveiling RARE 2.0 with a pledge to urge the travel community to explore differently and redefine its narrative for luxury and experiences – one that is people sensitive and planet friendly yet where service quality and transformative travel is a given.
The new RARE Logo is a simple, stylised leaf in gold of Ginkgo biloba, familiar to many as the maidenhair tree and is a metaphor for change to be led by travel and the community. Originally from the east, Ginkgo is a living fossil and has been around since before the Dinosaurs, deliberately propagated by avid horticulturists, it is found almost everywhere from the gardens in Kashmir to Oxford Street in UK, to the lanes of Manhattan. Change is driven deliberately when we inspire others to commit to a life that puts Planet and People first.
As part of its responsible tourism agenda under RARE 2.0, the organization has launched its new website and logo, which symbolize RARE India’s commitment towards conscious and mindful travel where luxury is redefined as experiences beyond excesses, stays that are sustainable and regenerative.
Speaking about her vision for RARE 2.0 and the newly launched website, RARE India’s Founder Ms Shoba Mohan said, “For the longest time choices for hotels, lodges and boutique stays have been based on their price points and excesses that passed off as luxury. Every popular destination has suffered the consequences of placing the needs of the traveller’s demands without a thought to the integrity of the destination and the effects of unchecked tourism on its culture and environment. The community of hotels promoted under RARE India is designed to uphold the cultural and environmental integrity of the destination by engaging visitors in experiences to celebrate its people, diversity, cultural richness, authenticity and natural beauty. In destinations that are culturally fragile and are in the fringes of pristine natural habitats, travellers are urged to understand and participate in its preservation thus creating exceptional transformations.”
The new website emphasizes on the nine RARE Touchstones as unique value propositions of every hotel of the community that will be a benchmark for a conscious choice and will create value beyond the ubiquitous luxury and service quality. The attributes that every hotel will be measured against are their attitude towards Single Use Plastic, Local Community Engagement, Safe Garbage Disposal, Water Conservation, Low Impact Tourism, Living Heritage and its preservation, Wildlife, Nature & Habitat Conservation, Sensitive Destination Discovery and the power of Human Touch.
Since its inception in 2004, RARE India promoted the idea of unique owner-run boutique hotels that operate with an evolved consciousness towards environmental conservation, cultural and heritage preservation as well as community engagement.
Currently, 63 hotels in the Community are free from or removing single-use plastic, 60 have implemented water conservation practices and 55 are working on safe garbage disposal. RARE India hotels also rank high on the wildlife conservation front wherein 10 partner hotels are TOFTigers PUG Nature Friendly Certified and 33 work toward nature and habitat conservation.
Almost every hotel on board (77) run their operations with teams trained from the local community, 61 work towards promoting local arts, crafts, festivals and traditions along with incorporating farm-to-table food practices, and 84 member hotels focus on destination discovery through walks, bicycle rides and local immersions.
While all the RARE India Community hotels are audited for experience, quality, style and conscious luxury before they come on board, as part of its RARE 2.0 agenda the organization through campaigns and workshops aims to motivate its hotel partners to assess, adopt and improve their ‘sustainability quotient’ through training and knowledge.
RARE India will also explore partnerships with like-minded organizations globally to strengthen the ethos of responsible tourism and share best practices. One such alliance was undertaken by RARE India a few months ago with Secret Retreats, which is headquartered in Singapore. The company is proud to be an Ally of Transformational Travel Council, USA, TOFTigers and Responsible Tourism Society of India.
In its technology upgraded version, the RARE India Community aims to be a consortium that is able to change traveller mindset towards destinations and experiences in the subcontinent that are alive, authentic, set in stylish and restful spaces, earth happy, conscious of their impact on the environment and committed to the land and the community. The community will offer an opportunity to the travellers to explore differently and have mindful interactions with people, culture, nature, wildlife, crafts and traditions, create transformational experiences that will nudge them to live consciously.
