Luxury tops the list for travellers, according to Virtuoso

Virtuoso has revealed that travellers are leaning towards luxury in 2023 with cruises high on the cards alongside Japan and South Africa.

Tapping into their data warehouse of more then $49.5 billion (USD) in transactions, Virtuoso has seen a return to form for Australian and New Zealand travellers who are known to be keen cruisers with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) sharing earlier in 2022, “before the pandemic, Australia was one of the world’s top cruise markets with up to 1.3 million Australians taking an ocean cruise each year.”

Virtuoso’s latest partner data indicates that luxury cruise production is expected to exceed 2019 by 30 per cent in 2023, with luxury ocean cruising continuing its 2022 domination into 2023. More general travel data echoes this with a shift in the sheer number of high-income travellers prioritising travel, whatever the price, and their determination to take multiple big-ticket trips.

Teaming up recently with exELLENce Group, Virtuoso brought together a group of industry insiders, including Virtuoso advisors from around the world and esteemed journalist Deborah Frank of Luxury Magazine USA. During the three-day session led by Virtuoso SVP of marketing Helen McCabe-Young, the group discussed global travel trends and the shifts in travel preferences of affluent travellers.

Data shows that South Africa has begun to rival many famous European cities, though the emerging top destination looks to be Japan with Tokyo coming in at fifth in a list of top international cities that Australians and New Zealanders are booking in 2023, only beaten by consistent favourites Singapore at number one, followed by Honolulu, London and Paris.

The new year is showing signs that many of 2022’s traveller habits will continue to be relevant in 2023 with prices of flights remaining high.

A report by Virtuoso late last year stated, “the average daily rate Australian luxury travellers are willing to pay was up 37 per cent for international travel, and an incredible 44 percent for domestic travel compared to 2019 levels, and rates show no signs of abating.”