Louis D’Souza, Managing Partner, Tamarind Global
Tamarind Global designs ‘work-to-wow’ journeys where weekday conferences naturally transition into curated weekend experiences—think local cuisine, wellness, soft adventure, and family add-ons, marking the perfect bleisure trip.
From the outset, Tamarind Global has focused on curating experiences rather than just building itineraries, which allowed them to scale across the verticals of Holidays, Celebrations and Corporates.
Tamarind Global hopes to deliver immersive, scalable, and locally resonant experiences, powered by data, AI-driven customisation, and sustainability-first planning. In an interview with TDM, Louis D’Souza, Managing Partner, Tamarind Global shares more…
Travel Daily Media (TDM): You have vast experience in the travel industry and have contributed so much to it over the years. Could you share a bit about how the company started, how it has grown over the years.
Louis D’Souza (LS): In the span of two decades, Tamarind Global has evolved from a DMC into an integrated travel, events, and destination-weddings company with a presence across the globe. From the outset, we focused on curating experiences rather than just building itineraries, which allowed us to scale across our three verticals of Holidays, Celebrations and Corporate. Cross-departmental synergies have been at the core of Tamarind Global’s growth story. With multiple divisons spanning corporate travel, MICE, weddings, and luxury leisure, we have been able to harness expertise across teams to deliver integrated solutions for our clients.
This shift coincided with India’s tourism boom, which in recent years has contributed trillions to GDP and supported millions of jobs, with business-travel spending rebounding beyond pre-2019 levels. These tailwinds helped strengthen our corporate and events verticals and enabled us to build scalable, multi-market programs, preferred hotel partnerships, and strong air consolidations.
At the same time, we have invested heavily in proprietary technology, online booking applications for hotels and flights, microsites, and analytics, to ensure our programs are measurable while delivering true white-glove service. This balance of scale and boutique DNA remains at the heart of our value to clients.
TDM: Which trends are ruling in terms of personalisation and customisation for events globally and in India? Can you share which major event your team brought to life in 2025 and what’s on the cards for 2026?
LS: Globally and in India, the trends shaping personalisation in events are driven by technology, wellness, and sustainability. We are seeing the rise of AI-enabled rooming, diet codes, wellness slots, and localised content on guest apps. At Tamarind Global, we have gone a step further by developing dynamic agendas for MICE, which manage transport, sessions, and F&B in real time, with sustainability toggles that allow guests to choose lower-impact options.
In 2025, Tamarind Global successfully executed diverse large-scale projects, including a 1,200-delegate global sales meet with hyper-personalised agendas, concierge support, and sustainability reporting. We also delivered large-format weddings and celebrations across various locations globally, showcasing our ability to blend scale, personalisation, and innovation across different event formats.
For 2026, Tamarind Global is curating bold, large-scale experiences that combine scale with personalisation. We are designing immersive pan-Asia incentive programs — experiences that go beyond traditional rewards to immerse participants in sustainability, wellness, and purposeful travel, blending cultural exploration with responsible impact.
We also plan to roll out multi-city customer festivals across India, where brands can connect with clients and communities nationwide through a unified festival identity that travels from metro to metro, while tailoring content, performances, and activations to each city’s unique flavor.
These formats highlight our ability to deliver immersive, scalable, and locally resonant experiences, powered by data, AI-driven customisation, and sustainability-first planning.
TDM: What are the top emerging destinations for Corporate Offsites in 2025 in India and abroad?
LS: In 2025, the top destinations for corporate offsites in India include Goa, which is seeing new hotel inventory, Udaipur and Jaipur, Coorg and the rapidly expanding North East for nature-led retreats, as well as Rishikesh and Dehradun that blend wellness with adventure. Drive-to destinations like Corbett and Mussoorie are also growing in demand.
We’re seeing strong momentum for emerging MICE destinations from India, with Vietnam, Oman, Ras Al Khaimah, Türkiye, Georgia, and Qatar leading the way. These markets are winning over corporates by offering the right mix of connectivity, scale, and unique experiences—exactly what Indian companies are prioritising when planning their offsites.
These locations balance beach, culture, and adventure, making them ideal for bleisure.
Our decision factors consider visa access, flying time, and diversity of venues, while also keeping in mind the growing need for sustainability and employee engagement as part of the offsite experience.
TDM: Do share in detail blesuire trends across India and how do you plan the same. Please share some statistics to support the answer.
LS: Bleisure has now moved from being a trend to becoming mainstream. The global bleisure market was valued at around $693 billion in 2024 and is projected to cross $816 billion in 2025. Indian professionals are among the most frequent bleisure travellers, averaging 7.4 work-linked trips per year compared to the global average of 6.4. At Tamarind Global, we design ‘work-to-wow’ journeys where weekday conferences naturally transition into curated weekend experiences—think local cuisine, wellness, soft adventure, and family add-ons. These are all integrated into a unified stack covering approvals, duty of care, air, hotel, insurance, and ground services. We’ve also introduced bundled pricing models with optional carbon-smart choices and microsites that clearly separate corporate and personal spending.
TDM: What five things do luxury travellers look for and which destinations have been popular for luxury travel for Indians in 2025 within the country and globally? How are you crafting these perfect holidays?
LS: Luxury travellers are seeking five essentials: virgin territory and privacy through exclusive villas; insider access such as after-hours museum visits or culinary residences; purposeful wellness that goes beyond the spa; zero-friction journeys with e-visas, secured transfers, and concierge apps; and experiences rooted in sustainability with a story. For Indian travellers, Rajasthan’s palaces, Kashmir and Ladakh in summer, and wellness-oriented properties in Goa and Kerala have been especially popular this year. Globally, we see strong demand for the UAE’s city-plus-desert experiences, Italy’s heritage and gastronomy, and phenomenon travel in Japan and Scandinavia—whether cherry blossoms or the midnight sun—alongside European cultural circuits reflecting the wave of outbound Indian travellers. At Tamarind Global, we craft these journeys as “modular luxury” holidays: anchored stays enriched with curated insider moments, secret tables with local chef partners, and verified lower-carbon options. With leisure demand on a strong upswing, we believe India is fast becoming a true porthole of global luxury travel.
TDM: Where are Indians travelling to for destination weddings? Which trends are popular for the destination weddings in 2025 globally and in India? What is your mantra for providing bespoke, enchanting, wow weddings?
LS: Indian couples are choosing a mix of iconic domestic destinations such as Rajasthan, Goa, and Kerala, alongside international favorites including Thailand, the UAE, and Italy. A rising “Wed in India” sentiment is also driving demand for domestic celebrations, fueled by improved infrastructure and a growing luxury inventory. The year’s trends point toward more intimate guest lists paired with greater conceptual luxury, flexible scheduling, sustainable décor, maximalist fashion, multi-day thematic arcs, and seamless tech integration through QR invites, concierge chats, and dynamic seating. At Tamarind Global, our mantra is simple yet powerful: design for delight, deliver with discipline. We start with the couple’s narrative, then bring it to life with a vetted ecosystem of vendors and meticulous logistical planning—whether that’s chartering flights, managing customs for trousseau or ensuring sustainability. The result is weddings that are breathtaking, flawlessly timed, and deeply personal, leaving lasting impressions on hosts and guests alike.
TDM: How has AI and tech impacted the way you all function? Can you throw some light on the way you are utilising the same to improve and grow your work?
LS: At Tamarind Global, AI is still at an early stage of our journey, but it’s already proving transformative. We’ve begun applying it to practical areas such as forecasting room nights, sentiment mining, and delivering hyper-personalised experiences for guests. On the operational side, our teams use AI copilots to speed up proposal writing, auto-tag RFPs, and generate itineraries. As the business travel sector resets toward an expected $1.57 trillion spend in 2025, buyers increasingly prioritise AI, cost control, and sustainability—so aligning with this shift is essential. We also see search evolving with AI-driven overviews, which means our content and SEO strategies are adapting as well. Importantly, we approach AI with governance and transparency: using opt-in data, keeping humans in the loop, and ensuring luxury travel retains its human touch. The results so far are faster turnarounds, tighter budget control, and higher guest satisfaction scores—proof that AI, when applied carefully, is a powerful ally in growth.
