North American affluent travellers have pinpointed Australia among the top 15 places around the world they desire to travel to after two years of travel limitations due to the pandemic. According to Global Travel Collection (GTC), luxury travel clients are seeking dream destinations, multigenerational holidays and unique experiences for the Northern summer of 2022.
Australia only just managed to make the cut on GTC’s list, at 13th most popular destination. The United Kingdom took the crown as the top international destination being booked by GTC’s travel advisors, for the fifth consecutive year.
Other places in the top 15 included Italy, France, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Greece and Germany, then South Africa, Ireland, Australia, the Dominican Republic and Portugal.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
Luxury travel advisors with GTC brands report their clients are excited to travel again, with some booking multiple trips. And they’re willing to spend more to get the holiday experience they want.
“Europe is in high demand this summer, with destinations like Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy the most booked,” said Tiffany Bowne, with All Star Travel Group, a brand within Global Travel Collection. “My luxury travel clients do a combination of experiences, like cooking classes, hiking/biking excursions and immersive activities connecting them to the place, as well as making sure they have dining reservations at the top spots.”
Carolyn Consalvo, with Global Travel Collection’s Andrew Harper, remarked that beach trips and Alaska cruises are very popular.
“Bucket lists are becoming to-do lists,” said Shayna Mizrahi, with In The Know Experiences, also part of Global Travel Collection. “Many of my clients want to travel to their dream locations,” with destinations as varied as the Maldives, southern Italy’s Amalfi coast, Australia and Hawaii.
Remote work has also opened up new possibilities, she said. “The demographics of my most active luxury travellers today are young professionals, who now can work remotely from anywhere and are choosing to combine this with unique luxury trips.”
Like similar feedback from the Virtuoso luxury travel network, GTC says its high-end travellers are eager to make up for the time they couldn’t spend seeing the world with friends and family over the past two years.
“I’m doing multiple multigenerational trips – grandparents not wanting to miss any more time and taking their family on an unforgettable trip of two to three weeks,” said Diana Castillo, with Protravel International of Global Travel Collection.
Laura Triebe, also with Andrew Harper, is also handling more requests for multigenerational holidays and bucket-list destinations like Hawaii and Africa.
“I think the client that calls now is more serious about travelling and is willing to adjust to an ever-changing world,” Triebe noted.
With rising prices and limited availability in some holiday spots, luxury advisors are putting their skills and experience to the test.
Clients are “willing to pay to get what they want,” and that includes upgrading their accommodations, said Michelle Summerville, with In The Know Experiences. “More people want to travel in the best way possible, better than they have in the past,” she said.
As has been the case for many months in the Australian market for outbound travel, airline capacity is proving to be the biggest challenge for travel sellers.
“The greatest challenge in selling luxury travel right now is the severely limited space and availability for flights and hotel rooms in the most desirable destinations,” said Leslie Tillem, with Tzell Travel Group of Global Travel Collection. “We are seeing extraordinary demand in luxury travel across the spectrum, leading to a lack of availability at any price.”
GTC reported that travellers who had never used an advisor before have now started to seek them out to help navigate COVID-19 entry and testing requirements. Now, they’re sold on the value of a travel professional.
“Your time is precious, and you want the assistance of an expert to help you plan your vacation,” said Angie Licea, President of the Global Travel Collection.
“Our luxury travel advisors have years of experience putting together trips for their clients, as well as firsthand knowledge of the world’s most popular destinations. They stay on top of the trends in luxury travel and deliver concierge-level service. Plus, travellers have the comfort of knowing that there’s a human being they can call whenever they have a question or concern.”