The season of Wanderlust is upon us and everyone is making travel plans. But where should you go? How about skiing in Davos? A Safari to Kenya’s Masai Mara maybe? A trek around pristine Bhutan? VO! decided to ask some of our CEOs what their favourite travel destinations are and we got an interesting array of answers. Our little theory is that a CEOs favourite place, however far away it may be, is linked to his business back home. Restaurateurs love places with great cuisine. An air-cooler maker likes glacial climes. And an elevator CEO likes heights.
Pradeep Chona, founder of Havmor Ice Cream and now Chairman of the Hooco, 1944 and Huber & Holly chain of restaurants in Ahmedabad, is a Bon Vivant, so it’s not surprising that his favourite place is the French Riviera. “It’s the most beautiful and romantic place in the world,” he says. “The best time to go is when the Cannes Film Festival is on. It’s awesome seeing the movie stars. The area next to the sea has great parties, with the best international bands playing. The people are so beautiful and well-dressed, you can’t take your eyes off them. The cuisine on offer is sumptuous. My most memorable meal was at Le Baoli, a restaurant where you have to make bookings months in advance.”
From Cannes, Pradeep and his wife Rekha like travelled to the city-State of Monaco, which is nearby. “It’s paradise on earth. The city hosts the Formula One car race right on its roads. Chairs are put out all over and you can watch the race like you are in a cinema hall,” he says.
The Chonas are not the only ones to name the French Riviera as their favourite travel destination. When we asked Piruz Khambatta, Chairman & Managing Director of Rasna, about the most interesting place he’d travelled to, he too named Nice/Cannes. When there, Piruz choses to eschew the party zone in favour of the countryside. “I don’t go for the film festival or the beach hangouts. The South of France grows some very valuable crops which can be converted to essential oils. I find them to be fascinating because they can be used in our own manufacturing process as well. Besides, the fields offer a spectacular view and a serene atmosphere to relax. What I would call natural aromatherapy,” he says.
If you’re looking for breath-taking views, you could do no better than Alaska, USA, which is the Numero Uno travel destination for Achal Bakeri, Chairman & Managing Director of Symphony. Luxury liners offer Alaska cruises that start from Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco and last from 4 to 14 days. The highlight of the cruise is generally considered to be Glacier Bay. Achal chose a cruise from Vancouver and says “I loved the vastness and raw beauty of the Alaskan landscape.”
For those who are looking for raw beauty that is closer to home, RS Sodhi, Managing Director of Amul, suggests Ladakh. “We went to the Nubra Valley and saw the cold desert and sand dunes. The trip from Leh to Nubra Valley is fantastic. Each dry hill was of a different colour. We stayed at a superb hotel called StoneHedge, which stands on a running stream. The whole experience was very exciting and memorable.”
And finally, there’s Sebi Joseph, President of Otis Elevator India. When we asked him to name his favourite destination he said: “Being an elevator man, I’m always fascinated by heights. Otis has been connected with execution of buildings from Burj Khalifa to Statue of Unity. For me, the most fascinating was my visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was tryst with history, to ride up the Eiffel Tower in an Otis elevator. Innovation par excellence way back in 1889. Lifting people to an altitude of 300 meters then, with hydraulic power, was amazing.”
Also Read: Seven Wonders Of The World One Must Visit
