Luxury travel is hot. The sector already accounts for as much as 20 percent of all global travel spending, according to World Travel Monitor figures. And the outlook is bright for travel agents selling luxury travel: According to Travel Leaders Group luxury travel advisors who participated in the 2017 Fall Travel Trends Survey, the vast majority (92.6 percent) say their luxury travel bookings are higher than or on par with the previous year.
And there?s even more reason for travel agents to woo this lucrative market: ILHA estimates that luxury travelers spend as much as six times more on trips than other travelers and take 5.6 trips a year, compared to 3 a year for average travelers.
Still, today?s luxury traveler is not the same as previous generations. They?re looking for something different. The need for high levels of service is a given. And they still want to see the most famous international sites. However, it goes beyond simply seeing these destinations and sites?they want to experience them at a personal level. In fact, according to Virtuoso?s 2018 Luxe Report, one of the top trends for luxury travelers is the desire to be a traveler, not a tourist, to enjoy authentic immersive experiences that they can?t find in a guidebook?and that they can?t create themselves. Enter luxury guided vacations.
?Well-traveled, high-end clients want access to places and people behind doors that are normally closed,? says Susan Reder, managing partner of Frosch Classic Cruise & Tr...