Sustainability remains a top priority for high-end travellers
This year, more than 5,000 luxury travel professionals (from 100+ countries!) gathered in Las Vegas at Bellagio, Aria, and Vdara resorts for Virtuoso Travel Week. Virtuoso is a global network renowned for creating meaningful experiences in luxury travel, and its annual Virtuoso Travel Week serves as the pinnacle by bringing together the group’s world’s-best travel partners and the industry’s most influential travel agencies and advisors. With a laser focus on driving future sales while establishing the latest travel trends from around the world, the event sets the stage for the future of travel. Judging by the numbers, the 2022 Virtuoso Week was a tremendous success, providing measurable value to the group’s members, advisors and preferred partners. Some statistics from this year’s event:
- 98 percent of Virtuoso Week attendees said the event achieved the primary business objective of offering Virtuoso members the opportunity to network and build/further relationships with preferred partners
- 97 percent of people said that attending Virtuoso Week was a good investment of their time.
- 90 percent of attendees felt that the new eight-minute meetings were the right amount of time for the one-to-one appointments
- Globetrotting was among the highest rated events, achieving a score of 9.1 out of 10
New additions featured at this year’s event proved successful as well. For the first time, Virtuoso introduced a Technology Summit featuring speakers from well-known tech entities such as Hopper and Expedia and Virtuoso’s own Senior Vice President, Digital & Consumer Products Travis McElfresh, while also including venture capitalists that fund travel technology. Virtuoso also joined forces with Condé Nast Traveller for the first time, revealing research each brand had conducted during an hour-long panel featuring Condé Nast Traveller Senior Features Editor Rebecca Misner and Virtuoso Senior Vice President, Marketing Helen McCabe-Young.
Additional features included the first-ever Pinnacle Lounge, a by-invitation-only setting for Virtuoso’s top producing advisors to meet with select partners, the Cruise Café, and partner lounges that invited advisors in for a glimpse at various experiences they can offer. Virgin Galactic was a standout as it brought in an actual seat from its spacecraft and provided attendees with a feel for what suborbital space looks like.
As an added nod towards sustainability, this year’s event totes were responsibly made from recycled plastics pulled from oceans. Attendees also had the ability to opt out of receiving the bag and everything in it, and instead make a donation (paid for by Virtuoso) to one of three charitable organizations: World Central Kitchen, Fairtrade International and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Sustainability remains top of mind, not just for the organizers behind Virtuoso Week, but for travelers as well. Below, five other trends from this year’s event, plus the destinations to watch and must-know insider news.
This Year’s Top Travel Trends
Sustainability Remains a Top Priority
In a recent survey, 74 percent of Virtuoso travellers said they’re willing to pay more to travel sustainably if they know where their money is going. And 70 percent agreed that traveling sustainably actually enhances their vacation experience. Travellers are increasingly committed to purposeful travel, and not just in a strictly ecological sense. They’re also seeking out companies and experiences that focus on “benefitting local people and the economy” and “preserving natural and cultural heritage.”
Travellers of All Ages Are Willing to Splurge on Value-Added Services – Like a Good Travel Advisor
According to a recent Virtuoso survey, 76 percent of travellers have accepted that we’re living in a “new normal,” which explains the growing demand for – and increased value of – an expert advisor who can save travelers time, energy and the headache of sitting on the phone for hours with customer assistance. Even Millennials and Gen Zers are turning to travel advisors. “My daughter is 25 years old and she’s an advocate of using a travel professional,” said Virtuoso travel advisor Susan Bowman. “She tells everyone and her friends also agree. They appear to be a generation that gets it, and they’ve figured out that we add value.” Between navigating airport travel and handling trip logistics, many travelers are opting to work with a dedicated travel advisor. “One of the simplest definitions of luxury goes like this: ‘Of course I can do it myself. I don’t want to’,” said Matthew D. Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso. “Travellers want to find someone who really knows what they’re doing, has great connections, saves time and has their back.”
Travellers are Back to Planning Ahead
With people hitting the road in record numbers, there’s never been so much frenzy around booking flights and hotels. In response to this pent-up demand, travellers are now booking their trips an average of 58 days in advance for domestic hotel stays, and 80 days for international trips (compared to 2019’s 44 and 60 days, respectively). “We’ve seen so much last-minute demand and literally the space is not there,” said Virtuoso advisor Beth Washington. “We’re seeing people now willing to think about things for 2023 instead of planning so last-minute.”
Off-Season Travel is Gaining Steam
If it seemed like everyone was in Europe this summer that’s because they were. According to a Virtuoso poll, seven of the top ten international destinations this summer were in Europe, with Italy and France leading the way. The surge in bookings has some destinations, like Italy, concerned about the effects of overtourism. As a result, travel professionals in Italy – the second-most popular spot for fall travel – are urging travellers to visit in the off-season. It’s a win-win for destinations and for travellers who get to see beloved places without the crowds. In a recent survey, the majority of Virtuoso travellers said they’d be willing to visit a popular destination during the off-season. Virtuoso’s own editors suggest booking a room at Passalacqua, the new Lake Como villa from hotelier Valentina De Santis and the Grand Hotel Tremezzo team, which is open year-round – a rarity in the Lake Como region.
This is an excerpt from an article by Virtuoso published earlier by hospitalitynet.
