In the week of its 35th annual Virtuoso travel week, the company has also honoured its favourite cruises of the year and its need to know details for festive travel.

Virtuoso Travel Week 

Luxury travel’s most significant event of the year is in full swing as Virtuoso welcomes an audience of more than 5,000 top professionals from 105 countries to its 35^th annual event.

Renowned for its leadership position within the industry, Virtuoso is hosting some of the biggest and best-known brands in luxury and experiential travel August 12-18 at Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino and Vdara Hotel & Spa, with hundreds more joining in virtually.

Representatives from nearly 2,100 companies will engage in morning tracks and afternoon self-selected appointments – over 180,000 of them in total – designed to establish and strengthen relationships, increase knowledge and drive sales.

This year, Virtuoso created more opportunities to customise the event experience for individual success.

Highlights so far include Virtuoso’s senior vice president, marketing, Helen McCabe-Young taking to the stage to share a look into Virtuoso’s consumer strategy and its continued focus on attracting high-value travellers to its network for the collective benefit of members, advisors and partners.

The weeklong program started on Saturday with a full day of Globetrotting sessions, where more than 900 Virtuoso members were able to select Virtuoso Communities of interest and participate in a series of fun and interactive presentations by select Virtuoso partners.

Cruise night out celebrates the networks favourite sailings

The top cruise partners of 2023 were honoured at “Cruise Night Out,” one of the hottest tickets of the week, which hosts the network’s cruise partners and its cruise-focused advisors for a by-invitation-only celebration.

Nominations came from both Virtuoso advisors and preferred partners in the categories of; Best Ocean Cruise Line, Best River Cruise Line and Best Expedition Cruise Line with advisors then voting to determine the winners.

As the cruise category expands in market size and consumer demand, competition is fiercer than ever.  This year’s winners share a commitment to excellence, innovation, support of the travel advisor community, client satisfaction and, of course, unforgettable travel experiences in some of the world’s most extraordinary destinations.

2023 Award Winners:

• Best Ocean Cruise Line – Silversea Cruises
• Best River Cruise Line – Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
• Best Expedition Cruise Line – Quark Expeditions

The need to know details festive travel + affluent holiday trends

Virtuoso gathered data and insights from its network of travel advisors, preferred partners and high net worth/ultra-high net worth clientele based on its data warehouse of more than $63.6 billion (AUD $90b) in transactions and an ongoing series of surveys.

The stand out figure highlights that travel is showing no signs of slowing down, despite inflation and global economic challenges.

In the first half of 2023, Virtuoso reported a 69 per cent uptick in sales versus 2019 numbers, with hotel and cruise segments leading the way, up 173 per cent and 122 per cent respectively.

Luxury hotels in the U.S. have seen a 57 per cent increase compared to 2019, while luxury international hotels have risen 58 per cent.

Future leisure travel sales leading into 2024-2025 are equally strong. When comparing sales leading into 2020 from 2019, considered to be luxury travel’s high-water mark, 2023’s future sales are pacing 107 per cent higher. Future sales for 2023 into 2024 are also pacing 44 per cent higher than they were in 2022 leading into 2023. 

2023 future cruise sales are also 44 per cent higher than they were in 2022 and 106 per cent higher versus 2019. 

This festive season, the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Thailand are set to be the hottest global destinations.

Travellers are dreaming of islands like Anguilla, Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, and St. Barts. while demand is also high for Kohala Coast/Kailua-Kona, Wailea, Argyll and the Isles of Scotland, and London.

There is sustained and slightly increased year-over-year hotel pricing, with average daily rates for preferred hotels this festive season climbing to nearly $1,600 (AUD $2482) per night.

Top culinary experiences, such as visiting a brewery or distillery or culinary-themed tours are also on the rise, especially in Portugal, Copenhagen and Croatia with 70 per cent of Virtuoso advisors highlighting an increase in culinary travel clients booking trips with food and wine as the main focus. 

Featured Image: Virtuoso Travel Week 2022. Source – Virtuoso