As community-led travel continues to reshape the way young Indians explore the world, travellers are increasingly seeking meaningful connections over conventional sightseeing. Boketto Travels has emerged as one of the pioneers of this shift, creating curated experiences where solo travellers meet like-minded people and build lasting relationships. In this conversation with Travellers’ World, Co-Founder Aakarsh Mehra shares insights into the rise of community-driven travel, evolving solo travel trends, and how Boketto is scaling while preserving its people-first philosophy.
Community-led travel is gaining traction among young Indians. What do you think is driving this shift away from traditional group tours?
I think people today are looking for experiences, not just itineraries. Earlier, travel was about ticking destinations off a list. Now it’s about coming back with stories and people you’ll remember.
Young Indians are also far more comfortable stepping out of their comfort zone. They’re moving cities for work, making friends online, and becoming more open to meeting new people. Community-led travel fits naturally into that lifestyle because it combines travel with genuine human connection. That’s what makes it different from a traditional group tour.
Boketto focuses on curating people rather than destinations. How do you ensure the right mix of travellers creates meaningful connections?
We’ve always believed that the people you travel with shape your experience more than the destination itself.
That’s why every traveller goes through an application process. We’re not looking for a certain profession or background – we’re simply trying to understand their intent. Are they open to meeting new people? Do they respect others? Are they travelling for the experience rather than just a cheap holiday?
Once people are on the trip, we design activities that naturally help conversations happen instead of forcing icebreakers. By the second day, strangers usually feel like they’ve known each other for years, and that’s honestly the most rewarding part of what we do.
With 70% of your travellers joining solo, how has the perception of solo travel evolved in India over the past few years?
The biggest change is that solo travel is no longer seen as lonely.
A lot of people aren’t travelling alone because they don’t have friends. They’re doing it because they want to meet new people and experience something different. We’ve seen working professionals, entrepreneurs, and even first-time travellers take that leap.
I also think families are becoming more comfortable with it, especially when they’re sending someone with a trusted community instead of completely alone. That trust has played a big role in making solo travel more mainstream.
As an invite-only travel community, how do you balance exclusivity with the ambition to scale without losing the essence of the experience?
For us, invite-only isn’t about making people feel excluded. It’s about protecting the experience for everyone who joins.
As we grow, we won’t compromise on that. We’d rather expand thoughtfully than chase numbers at the cost of community. Technology can help us become more efficient, but the feeling of the trip still comes from the people, the hosts, and the culture we build.
Scaling should never dilute the experience – that’s a principle we’ve held onto from day one.
Looking ahead, how do you see technology and human connection shaping the future of experiential travel for Gen Z and millennials?
Technology will make discovering, planning, and personalising travel much easier. AI can recommend destinations, simplify bookings, and even help match people with experiences they’ll genuinely enjoy.
But I actually think the more digital our lives become, the more people will value real-world human connections.
Travel is one of the few experiences where you put your phone down, have conversations with strangers, and create memories that can’t be replicated online. I believe the future isn’t about choosing between technology and community—it’s about using technology to make meaningful human experiences even easier to find.