Luxury Escapes will launch its first large-scale consumer travel event, Luxury Escapes Live, as the company continues to expand beyond its digital marketplace into a broader multi-channel distribution platform.
The two-day event will take place at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building on 16–17 May 2026 and is expected to attract more than 10,000 travellers. More than 100 global travel partners across aviation, cruising, hospitality, insurance and destination marketing are set to participate.
The event marks the latest step in Luxury Escapes’ evolving omnichannel strategy, following its expansion into physical retail and new in-person brand experiences designed to connect partners with its more than nine million members globally.
Luxury Escapes Live will feature immersive destination showcases and exclusive travel offers, with participating partners including Hong Kong Tourism Board, Dubai Tourism, Cook Islands Tourism and Tourism Western Australia. Aviation and cruise partners such as Cathay Pacific, Celebrity Cruises and Scenic Cruises will also be involved.
Luxury hotel brands including Banyan Group, The Mulia, COMO and Apurva Kempinski Bali are also expected to participate, highlighting strong supplier interest in engaging directly with Australia’s outbound leisure market.
Other major partners activating at the event include Mastercard, PassportCard, Lavazza and Wine Selectors.
The event will combine live destination activations with bookable packages and exclusive on-the-day offers, supported by digital follow-up to help partners convert consumer interest into bookings.
Luxury Escapes said the initiative is designed to complement existing trade relationships while driving consumer demand for destinations and products featured at the event.
The launch comes during a period of strong growth for the company, with Luxury Escapes reporting revenue up 50 per cent in recent months across key outbound destinations.
Internal research cited by the company suggests 87 per cent of Australians intend to travel internationally in 2026, with favourable currency conditions and easing airfare prices driving demand for destinations such as Bali, Fiji, Thailand and the Maldives.
Luxury Escapes co-founder and chief executive officer Adam Schwab said the event reflects both strong consumer demand and growing supplier interest in new customer acquisition channels.
“Australian appetite for travel has never been stronger, and Luxury Escapes Live is designed to put the industry’s best travel experiences in front of that demand. We’re bringing together more than 100 global travel brands and 10,000 high-intent travellers under one roof,” Schwab said.
“This is a natural extension of the ecosystem we’ve built digitally and across our two retail stores, now delivered at scale in a live environment that allows our partners to tell their story in a way beyond digital alone.”
Tickets to Luxury Escapes Live will be free for members.
