An airplane approaches a tropical paradise island in the Maldives.
The global luxury travel market, worth an estimated $1.5 trillion, continues to accelerate as well as diversify after an initial post-pandemic lift. Travel demand and spending, fueled by a near-insatiable curiosity for novel experiences, is expected to increase in 2024, reports Virtuoso, a global network of luxury and experiential travel agencies and advisors.
Wealthy travelers, however, are not all alike. Although some high-net-worth individuals might spring for a $10K champagne bubble bath at Florence’s Il Salviatino hotel, others might choose to soak in Esalen Institute’s hot spring baths perched on California’s Big Sur coast.
Still, the moneyed traveler is usually discerning.
“Our traveler is very much the tastemaker, the trendsetter amongst their peers,” says Shannon Knapp, president and CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), a collection of more than 400 five-star independent luxury hotels in more than 80 countries. “They’re constantly looking for what’s next. They’re taking more trips than ever, they’re spending more than ever, and they’re staying in larger rooms.”
Emerging Destinations Lure the Luxury Traveler
After a post-pandemic return to such favored spots as Italy, France and Greece, wealthy travelers are putting new pins on the map and venturing to Japan, Croatia, Iceland, Portugal and Antarctica, according to Virtuoso.
Saudi Arabia is also a contender, given its $800-billion tourism moonshot, part of a Vision 2030 government program that aims to reimagine an economy historically dependent on oil. Among numerous projects in development: Sindalah, a luxury island for yacht enthusiasts with three prestige resorts, and the fantasy city of Qiddiya, with a focus on entertainment, sports and culture that’s rising from the sands much as Las Vegas did.
Saudi Arabia has invested more than $800 billion to overhaul its tourism industry.
Iceland, far from the searing desert, also presents a significant opportunity for the luxury market, Knapp says. “The idea of luxury continues to evolve conceptually there. More and more luxury travelers are keen to experience the country’s raw natural beauty.”
Kyoto, a former imperial capital of Japan, is also attracting luxury travelers drawn to its culture and traditions. LHW’s collection includes Fauchon Hotel Kyoto, adjacent to the city’s vibrant Shijō Kawaramachi district, and it will soon add another.
Exclusive Access to Authentic Experiences
Eighty percent of the hotels in LHW’s portfolio are family led and more than 90% are independent. The world’s largest collection of such properties was founded by hoteliers for hoteliers in 1928.
Its storied hotels, many of which have been owned by multiple generations, point to another trend among elite travelers: the craving for unique experiences authentic to the destination.
“Destinations have evolved around these family-owned hotels,” Knapp says. “The owners have relationships with the artisans and shopkeepers that run deep.”
Knapp cites a recent trip to Italy with friends that began with a jaunt on vintage Vespa scooters arranged by the proprietor of Hotel Santa Caterina in Amalfi. They headed to the popular Concettina ai Tre Santi pizzeria in Naples, but it was closed for a holiday. The hotel’s proprietor, however, knew the chef, Ciro Oliva, whose family has run the pizzeria for more than 60 years.
“Ciro came down with his pizza chef, opened the restaurant, and prepared a tasting menu of five pizzas paired with champagne,” Knapp says. “It was an extraordinary experience.”
Having an authentic experience, such as a vintage Vespa ride around Italy, is a big part of today's ... [+]
A hotel’s architecture and interior design are integral to authentic experiences. The tile work at LHW’s Le Sirenuse in Positano, Italy, for example, has a storied history. The father-and-son firm of Fornace De Martino creates the tiles; their family enterprise has been firing kilns for more than six centuries.
A venerable Florence property, the Place Firenze, has gone a step further, establishing the Place of Wonders Foundation to “protect, preserve, and promote the human heritage of Italian craft.” The foundation funds scholarships for Italian artisans and offers hotel guests curated visits to local workshops to view creations in glass, gold, porcelain, cashmere and scagliola, a decorative technique that mimics marble.
Brands Team Up to Deliver Singular Journeys
Cross-brand alliances are another luxury trend, what the professional services firm Deloitte describes as “collaboration across the luxury brand ecosystem.” Notably, Accor Hotels has teamed with the SNCF Group (France’s railway company), owner of the legendary Orient Express brand. Three Accor hotels are being developed under the brand, which will also offer private journeys in restored Orient Express cars as well as on a branded sailing ship.
When properties strike up partnerships with local charities, such cross-brand alliances can create truly transformational experiences for guests.
Outside the Hotel Royal Mansour in Marrakech, Morocco.
Jean-Claude Messant, managing director at Morocco’s Royal Mansour Marrakech, has partnered with the Fiers & Forts Center, a local refuge for orphaned, disadvantaged and abandoned children. If they wish, hotel guests can make a donation or volunteer with the organization.
Leaving a destination better than they found it is “a big, big trend among luxury travelers,” Knapp says. “People want to come back home feeling better than when they left.” Unlike other packaged charity experiences, guests’ involvement with Fiers & Forts feels authentic, Knapp adds. “You can be a part of changing the lives of these kids.”
The Hallmarks of Slow Travel
Along with transformational experiences, slower, more focused travel is having a moment. That includes unhurried transportation, reports Deloitte, on trains, luxury yachts and smaller vessels, all paired with longer vacations. The global yacht charter market is expected to surge at a compound annual growth rate of 22.8% through 2027, reaching a value of $25.5 billion, according to Deloitte.
“People are traveling both slower and deeper,” Knapp says. African safaris excel at shifting perceptions about time and how it's spent, whether it’s a meerkat immersion experience at the edge of the Kalahari or encounters with decidedly chill Angolan colobus monkeys in western Rwanda.
Slower travel options such as traveling by train allows for a more immersive experience.
Wellness is a part of slower travel, and vacationers are willing to pay extra for high-class amenities. Although destination spas and retreats such as Canyon Ranch and Six Senses are popular, “it’s no longer exclusively about how big your spa is and how many massages you can offer,” Knapp says. “It’s about how you’re enabling guests to personalize their wellness experience. It’s about the programming and how deep and intense you want to go.”
Offerings that go beyond aromatherapy and hot stone massages include art therapy, Knapp says, and “wellness butlers” who can recommend tailored cuisine and spa treatments based on a full-body assessment.
Sustainability Includes Local Values
Sustainability continues to be a buzzword luxury travelers search for when choosing properties. LHW includes a Sustainability Leaders Collection of 78 certified properties that range from sleek urban towers to tented rainforest retreats.
Hotels that incorporate sustainability into building design and operations attract more eco-conscious luxury travelers—74% of whom are willing to pay extra to travel more responsibly. And sustainability increasingly means safeguarding a destination’s cultural heritage, traditions and values.
Hyper-Personalized Luxury Travel
The ability to hyper-personalize luxury travel has reached new levels because technology can track and manage guest preferences. “In the past, you had a world-class GM with a great Rolodex filled with everything about guests,” Knapp says. “Now, the depth of personalization is far greater.”
The trend includes luxury travel advisors who, like traditional travel agents, shoulder the time-consuming task of assembling and booking itineraries. The advisors are favored by 85% of luxury travelers, according to Deloitte.
Demand for luxury travel advisors offering white glove service is on the rise among global ... [+]
Velocity Black, described by the Wall Street Journal as a “turbocharged concierge service,” offers “bespoke bucket-list itineraries” using an exclusive membership app. Virtuoso, in contrast, touts its advisors who possess in-depth knowledge of such diverse places as Afghanistan and Tonga.
The ability to choose a cutting-edge app or an actual human advisor is the hallmark of luxury travel, Knapp says.
“Luxury is truly personal,” she says. “What’s luxury to me is not necessarily luxury for you. You can’t paint the luxury traveler with a single brush. But they are often intellectually curious, and they want to be challenged. And they’re out exploring, contributing and experiencing.”
This interview is part of PERSPECTIVES, a comprehensive look into the world of prime residential real estate. Access the full report here to discover the latest trends and dynamics shaping the market.
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