Travel Associates’ inaugural Luxury Travel Event held in Sydney last Sunday lured a massive 70% new to brand visitors to the all-day event. Some 600 luxury travel experts joined Travel Associates at the event, which saw guests connect fact to face with hand-picked travel partners from luxury travel providers across cruise, touring, aviation and 5-star hotels and resorts.
Heralding a new age in consumer travel events and without a single trade stand in sight, guests enjoyed one-on-one time with one-of-a-kind travel partners and with the personal support of Travel Associates’ expert travel advisors to find their next inspiring travel destination.
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Danielle Galloway, Flight Centre Travel Group’s Global Managing Director of Luxury Leisure and Independent Brands, said: “Travel Associates’ luxury product collection is handpicked, then tailored to each client, allowing us to exclusively negotiate benefits that no one else can. Our experiences cannot be googled and we offer an exceptional and highly personalised service.”
“The Luxury Travel Event is the first of its kind, and designed to really showcase how we work and who we are as a brand,” Galloway continued. “Our DNA speaks to our desire to truly connect with guests, and we love nothing more than bringing this to life by working with our incredible partners to connect them to future clients in a way that is both personal and immersive.”
“When it comes to travelling in style, we are seeing client trends change. Our clients are tending to be younger, time-poor and also keen to really experience the world after the challenges we’ve all faced in the pandemic.”
“Our clients know that the best advice and those ‘one of a kind’ magical moments can only be delivered by a trusted and expert travel professional,” Galloway added.
A boutique cinema hosted a line-up of immersive presentations from the best of the best suppliers, showcasing desired destinations and one-of-a-kind experiences. Attendees were also treated to wellness massages by Chiva Som and COMO Shambala, cultural exhibitions, canapes, champagne, and luxury gift bags.
Travel Associates is celebrating 25 years designing bespoke travel, with a focus on a seamless end-to-end customer experience. The heart of the brand is the Best of the Best, with 250 advisors across Australia and New Zealand and a network of 65 businesses.
Event exhibitors included: Captain’s Choice, Ahoy Club, Explora Journeys, Qatar Airways, Oceania Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, COMO Hotels, Abercrombie & Kent, 50 Degrees North, Shangri-La, Tourism Fiji, Seabourn, Chiva Som and Zulal Wellness Resorts, Luxury Gold, Viking, Exotic Destinations, Keith Prowse Travel, National Geographic Journeys (G Adventures), Hawaii Tourism, Silversea Cruises, Western Australia Tourism, Windstar, Bench Africa, Avalon, Experience Morocco (represented by Unique Tourism Collection), Etihad Airways, Scenic, Chiva Som Wellness experience, Lindblad Expeditions, Cunard, Skimax, Swiss Tourism, Adventure World, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Soneva Resorts (represented by Slojourn Studio), United Airlines, Virgin Voyages. Additional partners also included Covermore, Travel Money OZ, and Lula Eye Masks.
Lead image: from left are: Rachel Kingswell, Dani Galloway, Askin Erkec, Maddison Done, Nikki Glading, Adam Townson, Shannon Fogarty, Lisa Wright, Jess Sonter and Anna Burgdorf.