The Luxury Travel Collection’s (LTC) inaugural business owners Soiree took place on Hayman Island last week. The event saw luxury leaders gathering to find out more about the key trends shaping the industry.

The Immersion Day, held on Thursday 16 May 2024, followed the growing luxury client trend of valuing immersive experiences over material items.

Key Partners of LTC’s Global Leadership Soiree took a different approach to presenting their latest luxury offerings with Day 2 of the event dedicated to product education through immersion. Each of the 11 Partners hosted 30-minute discovery sessions with the luxury business leaders, taking advantage of activities as broad as Agave Tasting, Coffee Appreciation, Master Weaving, a Crepe Station, Tea & Scones, Detox, Site & Sip and Yoga.

Statistics show that 78 per cent of new luxury travel consumers opt to spend money on experiential activities that will create a lasting memory. This ‘conscious consumerism’ is particularly relevant for Millennial and Gen Z luxury travelers who are currently driving 100 per cent of the growth in luxury spending. These generations also tend to be more travel-oriented than any other generation, expected to fuel the industry’s growth between 2022 – 2030.

“A core requirement of any luxury travel owner is product knowledge, making Immersion Day a critical way to absorb new information about partners, as well as strengthen their connections with the senior executives of each partnering brand,” said Dani Galloway, global MD of Luxury & Independent Leisure FCTG.

“The opportunity to connect via memorable and meaningful experiences ensures maximum retention of brand knowledge for each of our business owners. And a lot of fun – which is another key element of building lasting connections,” she added.

LTC’s new Galeries de Luxe Department Store of exclusive products has been designed around the same concept of immersive experience for clients. Every one of the luxury partners joining one of the seven Galeries is committed to delivering an exceptional experience that is a signature of their brand.

Providing luxury clients with the opportunity to connect with luxury travel partners to experience their product in a meaningful, conscious way is far more likely to deliver a memorable and relatable holiday, according to Anna Burgdorf, LTC global brand & marketing director.

“LTC puts the requirements of the luxury consumer at the centre of our strategy. Although LTC is a B2B House, this nevertheless means delivering the right support tools and structures to our Members enabling them to provide the all-essential elevated experience for their client. The Island Immersion Day was a sensational way to demonstrate to both business leaders and partners just how successful the concept can be when it is purpose designed for the client’s added value. It’s all about the concept of ‘show, rather than tell’,” Burgdorf said.

The 11 Immersion partners are:
▫ AdventureWorld
▫ Collette
▫ Discova & Back Roads Touring
▫ GLOBUS Family of Brands
▫ IHG
▫ Oceania
▫ Ponant
▫ Regent
▫ Scenic
▫ Scott Dunn
▫ Viking Cruises

As well as Immersion Day there was also Leadership Day, held on Wednesday 15 May 2024. This saw a curated selection of guest presenters share their professional insights with 100 of Australia’s travel industry leaders, including members of the Luxury Travel Collection, along with senior executives of both the LTC and key luxury travel Partners.

Guest Luminaries included:

Alexandra Smart – Smart Alex. Studio (and former founder of Ginger & Smart)
Kirsten Galliott – Head of Content, Travel & Business, Editor-in-Chief QANTAS Magazine and
Travel Insider
James Kavanagh – Global Leisure CEO, Flight Centre Travel Group
Sonia Davies – CEO of Scott Dunn
Wendie Lee – Global Product Leader (Technology) FCTG Luxury & Independent Leisure
Lisa Manser – Global Director of Wellness COMO Shambhala