Virtuoso has kicked off its busy calendar of events for the year with its 2025 Australia and New Zealand Forum from 24 to 26 February, bringing together 190 attendees.
They included owners and managers from Virtuoso’s travel agency members across Australia and New Zealand along with preferred partners from around the world. Held this year at The Ritz-Carlton, Perth, Virtuoso hosted the annual gathering in partnership with Tourism Western Australia.
Attendees had the opportunity to attend various presentations and professional development sessions, where they engaged in meaningful peer-to-peer conversations, and exchanged ideas and best practices on topics ranging from business planning to tailoring advisor skills for selling luxury travel, AI, team synergy for revenue growth and more.
Virtuoso chairman and CEO, Matthew D. Upchurch, took the stage at the event’s Opening Session and emphasised the importance of a concept that is foundational to Virtuoso: humanising the exceptional.
“Since 2010, our core purpose has been to enrich lives through human connection,” Upchurch said. “Some may have thought it was just a slogan or feel-good sentiment, but it turned out to be our most defensible business model and the defining element of what Virtuoso advisors offer. Interacting with other people is not a desire, but a human need. Travel is a key vehicle for these interactions and exactly why the work of our advisors has never been more important.
“One of my favourite newsletters says, ‘People are the new brands.’ Statistics show that social media posts including human faces receive higher engagement, and people view their favourite influencers as friends. That’s called the Parasocial Phenomena, and it translates to our industry because travel advisors are influencers in their own right. But they are not parasocial influencers; they’re real ones. This further proves that advisors are relationship marketers that land sales, not just another form of distribution.”
Senior vice president of Global Operations, Michael Londregan, also spoke to members and partners, presenting trends and insights. He revealed that 2024 was another record-breaking year for the Virtuoso network with sales surpassing 2019 numbers by 239 per cent and significantly outpacing the leisure travel industry, which has grown an average of 125 per cent in the same period. The network’s total production in Australia and New Zealand increased by over 17 per cent last year compared to 2023. Sales in the region were up across the cruise, hotels, service and tour categories, with cruise sales leading the way in year-over-year growth at a 30 per cent increase.
Virtuoso data also showed that travellers are booking their trips further in advance. The global average booking window is now 125 days, a six per cent year-over-year increase, whilst the average booking window for Australia and New Zealand travellers is slightly greater at 131 days, up four per cent versus 2023.
Looking forward to travel booked for this year and 2026, Virtuoso’s future leisure sales increased by more than 30 per cent. Specifically, bookings of at least US$50,000 (AU$78,400) are up 51 per cent, with cruise bookings in the same price range up 49 per cent. Londregan anticipates future travel sales will continue to increase in years to come, as the UBS Global Wealth Report 2024 predicts a 15 per cent growth in millionaires by 2028.
Sharing findings from the 2025 Virtuoso Luxe Report: Australia and New Zealand, an annual survey of Virtuoso’s travel agency members, including over 200 advisors from the region, Londregan revealed the most popular destination on the rise as Antarctica followed by Sri Lanka, Norway, Portugal and Vietnam. He also shared that adventure cruising reigns as this year’s top travel trend as well as family and multi-generational travel.
Virtuoso general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Greg Treasure, praised the engagement of the Australia and New Zealand community in the Virtuoso network. He highlighted some of the successes in the region during his first year in the role, including the 136,000 face-to-face connections between advisors and preferred partners delivered across 15 events, and a 17 per cent increase in preferred partner production.
“We are stronger together, and our shared commitment to elevating the role of the luxury travel advisor, whilst placing the traveller at the centre of everything we do, will ensure our collective success,” Treasure said.
Marketing director for Australia and New Zealand, Zoe Dean, took the stage to share exciting marketing program updates including Virtuoso Digital Destination Experiences, the So Virtuoso co-op campaigns featuring travel partners and a new Social Media Content Centre for members.
Virtuoso also shared updates on its digital experiences for members. Virtuoso Communities, smaller groups of the network’s advisors and preferred partners who specialise in specific travel niches, will now have access to a dedicated Communities platform that allows participants to foster deeper relationships with other members and partners within the Community, as well as training and support resources. Additionally, there have been recent enhancements to Virtuoso’s Lead Generation program to ensure advisors have better visibility over leads and can respond and action leads delivered to their inbox through Virtuoso.
Virtuoso also announced updates to its enhanced hotel amenities program during the Opening Session. Introduced last year, 20 per cent of Virtuoso preferred hotel partners opted to provide a higher value-add for all Virtuoso bookings, including amenities such as double or triple credits for guests depending on the length of their stay, guaranteed upgrades and confirmed early check-in or late check-out.
This year, Virtuoso participation has already increased to 30 per cent of the network’s preferred hotels, and Virtuoso data shows that those properties are seeing rising ADRs and an average increase in revenue of 50 per cent.
Greg Treasure closed the Opening Session, thanking the sponsors and destination host, Tourism Western Australia, for their support of the event, having offered all attendees the chance to experience Perth and beyond with Design Your Day activities or a pre-Forum familiarisation trip.
