New Delhi, Not way back, a desk for one drew awkward glances from fellow friends and nil consideration from servers whereas a solo journey itinerary invited quiet pity. It’s totally completely different at this time.
One is sufficient: India’s younger and previous embrace eating and travelling alone
And it isn’t nearly burying your nostril in a guide or engaged on a laptop computer in a espresso store or co-working area. Indians, led by millennials and Gen Zs, are out and about, busy rewriting the foundations one solo plan at a time.
Be it 25-year-old pupil Kanika Saluja or 72-year-old retired banker Amit Gupta, one is sufficient. And they’re making it rely.
Most vital, for each, going solo doesn’t translate to being lonely. In reality, it’s a assertion of liberation. Unapologetic and completely by alternative.
“I’ve performed the years of working round for work and household. Now, if I step out alone, it is for pleasure a meal I get pleasure from or a brief journey at my very own tempo. There is not any coordination, no stress. Simply peace,” Noida-based Gupta informed PTI.
Gupta, who’s going the solitary method quietly and with out hashtags, added with emphasis that he loves going out by himself for meals, journey or quiet recreation.
Saluja stated she would really feel awkward consuming out alone. Her considerations have been the standard: the place, the individuals, the service. However at some point she tried it, and she or he was hooked.
Since then, solo lunches and dinners have turn out to be her little “me-time” ritual.
“I keep in mind making an attempt it as a result of my associates have been busy. And I simply liked it. I may take my time, attempt new dishes, simply be within the second, and even do some good individuals watching. It is not about being alone anymore; it is doing issues my method, alone phrases,” stated the Delhi-based pupil, now wanting ahead to a ‘me solely’ journey to Meghalaya.
Armed with disposable earnings and limitless choices at their fingertips, the rising not so younger brigade is on the transfer, reclaiming time for themselves and turning it right into a full blown life-style alternative.
Cafes, eating places, boutique inns and even journey apps are noticing the shift with areas and companies more and more designed to cater to solo patrons.
In line with The Bar Consultants , a hospitality advisory agency with over 400 assignments throughout India and overseas, the mindset has certainly shifted.
As an example, solo eating from bar seating and comfortable single tables to versatile menu parts and attentive service that understands visitor preferences is now a part of early planning conversations, now not an “afterthought”.
“A number of years in the past, it occurred by the way. In the present day, we design for it… Shoppers are beginning to see that solo diners typically turn out to be their most loyal friends,” stated Angad Chachra, founding father of TBC.
Eating places throughout the spectrum are taking notice.
At Zuki, the brand new pan-Asian hotspot in Noida, solo eating is not a development. It is freedom for people to decide on “to eat what they need, when they need, with out negotiating parts, preferences, or tempo”.
Menus are recalibrated with tasting codecs, half parts and mix-and-match add-on selections. Seating is intentionally designed to work intuitively like counter seats with a kitchen view, cozy tables, and layouts that by no means isolate solo friends from teams.
“Even service type issues our group is skilled to learn intent. Some solo diners need interplay; others need silence and focus… We design meals that does not depend on sharing to really feel full. A solo diner ought to by no means really feel like an exception. They need to really feel like probably the most intentional visitor within the room,” stated chef Vaibhav Bhargava from Zuki.
Then again, Arjun Sagar Gupta, founding father of The Piano Man, does not see solo eating as a development a lot as a long-standing behavior. One which’s solely grown larger in scale, pushed by “city life, versatile work hours, and a consolation with doing issues alone”.
It additionally makes enterprise sense, he argued.
“It results in larger desk utilisation throughout off-peak hours, extra predictable ordering patterns and sometimes stronger repeat visits. It additionally pushes us to be extra disciplined about portion management and pricing, which finally improves operational effectivity with out compromising visitor expertise,” Gupta added.
Anuj Sethi, a real blue solo fanatic, with 5 home and worldwide solo journeys below his belt and somebody who typically visits his neighbourhood café alone with a laptop computer and limitless espresso refills, is satisfied this is not a passing fad.
For him, the motion is just heading a method: “ahead”.
“When you get comfy spending time with your self, there is no going again. Travelling alone, at your individual tempo, making each resolution proper or incorrect by yourself, hits in another way. And someplace between quiet meals, and unfamiliar streets, you meet not simply new individuals, however a unique model of your self which you did not even know existed within the first place,” stated the 35-year-old Bengaluru-based techie.
And his declare isn’t off the mark, as a result of journey, with numbers steadily climbing, is maybe on the forefront of the solo motion.
In line with travel-banking fintech platform Niyo’s 2025 report, for example, solo journey has emerged because the dominant desire amongst Indian travellers, with “63.8 per cent” of journeys undertaken by people.
Motels are seeing the shift up shut.
Sarovar Motels, one of many nation’s main chains, stories a “12–15 per cent year-on-year rise” in solo friends in 2024–25 in comparison with the earlier yr, largely pushed by younger adults and dealing professionals aged 25 to 40.
“Perceptions round solo journey have modified considerably. We’re additionally observing a major rise in solo ladies travellers, fuelled by better confidence, rising monetary independence, and improved security infrastructure throughout the hospitality sector.
“We now have consciously enhanced our visitor expertise to help the wants of solo travellers, with a robust deal with security, consolation, and comfort,” stated Akshay Thusoo, senior vice-president at Sarovar Motels.
The momentum is even stronger for trip rental platform Airbnb, which recorded a powerful 35 per cent leap in solo journey bookings in India throughout the first half of 2025.
Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb’s nation head for India and Southeast Asia, stated that what was as soon as seen as unconventional has now gone mainstream, with solo journey more and more celebrated as a logo of “empowerment, private development and independence”.
He additionally credit social media for serving to normalise the development.
“The platform notes {that a} rising variety of travellers are additionally sharing their solo experiences on-line and on social media, serving to normalise the observe and turning it into an aspirational, extensively accepted method for Indians to discover the world on their very own phrases,” he stated.
This text was generated from an automatic information company feed with out modifications to textual content.
