This article originally appeared in AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
There’s no questioning that 2019 and 2022 were stellar years for the luxury travel market. And the same can be said for 2023 – only more so, said travel advisors who specialize in the market, noting that demand shows no signs of diminishing any time soon.
“We have definitely seen a massive increase in the luxury market since 2019. COVID was like breaking open a flood gate in terms of the interest and demand for luxury travel and services,” said Jonathan Alder, CEO of Jonathan’s Travels in Winter Park, Fla.
“The luxury travel market is still very strong and still growing based on what we are seeing with pricing continuing to rise.”
Quality Over Quantity
“After the COVID pandemic, travelers have valued both luxury and the best travel experiences possible over quantity,” Alder added. “Even with current costs, we have seen no drop in demand within the luxury travel market.
“Thus, there have been more mainstream clients moving upmarket and then never going back.”
Claire Schoeder, an independent contractor at Atlanta-based Elevations Travel, said that her luxury clients are now traveling more frequently.
“They tell me they no longer want to put things off as they don’t know what may happen in the future. Many postponed travel for two years and are, in the words of one client, making up for lost time.”
For her part, Holly Lombardo of Atlanta-based Holly Lombardo Travel, an affiliate of Travel Experts, has witnessed a sharp rise in bucket-list trips “I’m not even sure I would call it ‘bucket list’ travel so much as ‘why wait’ travel,” she said.
“There is much more demand for international travel and extended stays, and I do not see it changing anytime soon.”
Exotic Itineraries
“The demand for longer cruises and more exotic touring has increased dramatically post-COVID,” said Richard Turen, managing director of Naperville, Ill.-based Churchill & Turen.
“Our guests demand exclusivity and a sophisticated approach to traveling,” he said. “They want to travel with intelligent and inoculated fellow travelers. Guests are far less interested in price than they were pre-COVID.
“Our business to the Caribbean and Mexico is no longer significant. Our guests want exclusive experiences that come with ‘bragging rights.’”
Schoeder’s clients, meanwhile, are opting for longer vacations or a number of one-week getaways. “I am also booking more adventure travel than I used to – both domestic and international,” she said. “My clients have also been interested in more bespoke experiences – unique activities that make their vacations truly stand out.”
To make that happen, Schoeder said she works with “select DMCs that are able to arrange truly unique activities for clients who want to invest in one-of-a-kind experiences.”
Younger Clientele
“I am seeing more younger clients in their late 30s and early 40s,” Schoeder said. “This change in age demographics has contributed to my increased adventure travel business.”
How will the luxury market fare going forward?
“This is a harder question to answer as a lot will depend on the economy and other similar factors,” Schoeder said.
“Based on my clients’ inquiries, I expect there to be more options for experiential travel catering to the luxury market.
“As we see younger travelers enter the luxury market, vendors will need to adapt to their vision of luxury, which can be quite different from older luxury travelers.”
The Flourishing Villa Vacations Market
One sector of the luxury travel market that is arguably thriving is villa vacations. AGENTatHOME caught up with Steve Lassman, Villas of Distinction’s vice president of villa product and agency relations, for his take on the demand for villa vacations – and the role advisors play in the growth of segment.
WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THE HIGH DEMAND FOR LUXURY VILLAS TO?
The demand for luxury villas was on the rise pre-pandemic, especially through our travel advisor preferred partnerships. We focused our time and our marketing on training and educating travel advisors on the value of a villa experience and helping them drive consumers to villas as an accommodation option. This only manifested itself in tremendous growth during the pandemic due to a luxury villa being the ultimate in social distancing accommodations.
As travel advisors learned more about our villa product and how we could help them compete with the do-it-yourself consumer sites, we have been able to grow our mutual businesses together. In addition, the high repeat rate of a villa experience has also had a positive impact in growth for Villas of Distinction and our travel advisor partners. Another trend is the tremendous growth we’ve seen in celebration and multi-generational family travel.
HOW IS BUSINESS COMPARED TO LAST YEAR AND 2019?
We saw significant increases in our business pre-pandemic, and business is still strong year over year, with our customer focus shifting to travel abroad rather than the domestic/Caribbean market. This is especially true in Europe, which has seen an unprecedented increase over prior years.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW THE LUXURY MARKET WILL FARE GOING FORWARD?
All indications point to a prolonged surge in luxury travel, and more specifically in the luxury villa market, as both travelers and travel advisors continue to see the incredible value a villa provides.
Travelers want a truly unique vacation experience. They can get this from a villa and from the tailor made service we – along with our advisors – provide, which includes being able to customize guests’ trips from start to finish to meet their wants and desires.
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