How This Indian Travel Company Waari Is Building a Scalable Model for Experiential Travel

As experiential travel evolves from a niche preference into a defining expectation for modern travelers, Indian travel brand Waari is carving a distinct space by blending deep local immersion with globally benchmarked service standards. The company is reimagining how culturally rooted tourism can be designed, scaled, and sustained responsibly across geographies.

Founded with the belief that travel should go beyond logistics and itineraries, Waari’s philosophy is anchored in authenticity, depth, and long-term community engagement. “Waari was born from a simple realization, that travel had become too transactional. We wanted to slow it down, humanize it, and create journeys with meaning, depth, and human connection,” the company states.

Waari’s origins trace back to founder Maruti Musmade, whose relationship with travel began over four decades ago. Starting his career with Indian Railways in 1983, his exposure to diverse people, landscapes, and cultures shaped a core insight: meaningful travel is defined by human connection, not checklists.

That philosophy evolved into Waari, a brand built on transparency, responsibility, innovation, and a customer-first mindset. Instead of standardized tour packages, Waari curates journeys with intent, each itinerary anchored by a Waari Signature Experience™, designed to reflect the cultural essence of the destination while adhering to international service benchmarks.

“We don’t sell packages, we craft stories people carry home,” the leadership emphasizes.

In Bhutan, Waari’s experiences are built around everyday life rather than curated spectacle. Guests are welcomed into local homes, where cultural exchange unfolds organically over shared meals and conversations. Visitors take part in making traditional momos alongside host families and are introduced to Bhutanese staples such as Zow (puffed rice), Ezay (chilli relish), and Butter Tea (Suja), served exactly as locals enjoy them.

Beyond food, Waari enables participation in daily village routines. Guests engage in traditional grain grinding using stone mills, gaining insight into practices that have sustained communities for generations. In one such moment, a young girl churning butter alongside her family becomes a shared human connection, transforming an ordinary ritual into a meaningful cultural encounter.

Waari differentiates itself by integrating local culture, people, and livelihoods into every itinerary it curates. Across destinations, experiences move beyond surface-level sightseeing, ensuring travelers engage meaningfully with communities and everyday life.

The company works closely with local communities and institutions to design immersive, community-led experiences, collaborating with tourism bodies and stakeholders across domestic and international destinations. Responsible tourism is embedded into its programs, ensuring economic value reaches the grassroots, positioning travel as a tool for participation and dignity, not short-term consumption.

Behind Waari’s journeys is a structured five-step curation framework that combines research, verification, creativity, and operational discipline. The process begins with deep destination research, what the company calls “becoming travel scholars”—followed by on-ground verification of hotels, routes, and experiences. It then moves into creative itinerary design, direct partner negotiations to eliminate middlemen, and thoughtful matching of like-minded travelers, especially for group journeys.

This framework allows Waari to balance comfort, pacing, and cultural depth, resonating with its core audience of discerning professionals, entrepreneurs, senior travelers, and families aged 35 and above.

Waari operates across the Indian Subcontinent and destinations in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. Its expansion is guided by cultural richness and experiential depth rather than popularity metrics. Consistency across regions is ensured through strict partner vetting, trained tour managers, standardized service protocols, and continuous feedback loops.

For Waari’s leadership, travel is as much about responsibility as it is about discovery.

Founder Maruti Musmade says, “Every traveler invests time and money to realize their dream journey. It is solely our responsibility to perfect every detail and create unforgettable experiences, ensuring every moment of your journey is worth the investment.”

Director, Rishikesh Musmade adds, “Our purpose is to connect you to our vast world. Make new friends, get inspired by the destination, its people and their stories. Escape the ordinary and embark on transformative experiences. Explore not only the world outside, but the one within you!”

Chief Executive Officer, Gayatri Gawde Musmade frames the philosophy more pointedly,

“When we travel, we often think about what we’ll take back, memories, photographs, rest, and rejuvenation. But travel must also ask a deeper question: what are we giving back to the destination? At Waari, we believe true luxury lies in giving back, through thoughtful travel that honours local cultures, supports communities, and leaves every destination richer for having hosted us.”

As experiential travel gains global momentum, Waari plans to scale its Signature Experiences across geographies while deepening collaborations with local curators, cultural custodians, and boutique hospitality partners. The company is also investing in narrative-led itinerary design and stronger on-ground partnerships to preserve authenticity at scale.