Incredible India

Dear Advisor Partners,

Perhaps a noticeable sign of the times is when the anticipation of something happening, like a border opening, gets you excited. It’s these baby steps in a complicated world that make you even more grateful. In this case, the news of India’s border opening soon has everyone waiting eagerly. India’s path through the last 17 months has not been easy. To see the destination overcome the large obstacles it has and move to a place where the border can be safely opened is not a huge step, it is, in the words of Neil Armstrong, a giant leap.

India has always been a special place to the team at Big Five, and to me personally, and it goes beyond my heritage. I remember going to India for a month when I first got to Big Five to see I this was an industry I really wanted to join. I got my answer sitting in a tiger reserve with the late Fateh Singh Rathore as he began to show me his raw footage of tiger movements that didn’t make his television documentary. It was that moment that I realized, that this destination I had been visiting since I was a child, had something special, something that would give a traveler pause. I also realized that the stereotypes this country could not overcome prevented people from experiencing the same magic I did. In fact, when I began to average out the stats, it seemed that over 50% of the travelers that visited India a second time never wanted to go before their first visit. Think about that for a second. Think about the fact that half the people that visited India because they were coerced to do so, had their opinion changed so profoundly that they decided to return. Why is that? Consider the first thing that comes to mind when someone says India if the destination isn’t on your bucket list. Of course, the media coverage hasn’t always been glamorous either. Now think about how powerful India is, that one visit can break that stereotype completely. That is what Incredible India really means my friends.

So in anticipation of the border opening, we created this video to take you on a journey. In addition, since the auspicious days of Navratri have begun, we will be live streaming from two locations, for the first time, in India on October 13^th at 12:30EST. you can register to join us on Big Five TV here, or watch us live on YouTube. Join us, as we welcome the return of this sleeping giant.