National Geographic notes in a recent article that every December, top hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, travel agents, and members of the media descend upon Cannes, France, for the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), the travel industry?s version of the Cannes Film Festival.
According to the leading travel publication, the seven luxurious trends and favorite finds to inspire your 2017 travel plans are as follows:
BACKLASH AGAINST LUXURY
Luxury, one of travel?s most overused declarations, can feel like a dirty word. (I stayed at a hotel once where my shower cap was labeled as luxury.) But 2017?s not about solid marble suites or gold-leaf interiors. Many at Cannes talked about returning luxury to its roots?something precious, rare, and most important, invested in emotional value. Defining your own luxury, says Gary Murphy of AmaWaterways, could be a surfing camp with no electricity or a five-star river cruise with plenty of bikes onboard for shore excursions. Grace Hotels takes personalization even further; with Bespoke by Grace, guests can pick their room fragrance and bath products but also choose from insider experiences like blending your own wine in Argentina or a guided hike in Connecticut.
EXPERIENCE OVER OWNERSHIP
Luxurians no longer want souvenirs. The elite traveler now thirsts for access over acquisition, and experiences over owning stuff. This is ?good news for travel, bad news for handbags,? Chris Sanderson, co-founder of the Future Laboratory...