In August, Virtuoso held its 35th annual Travel Week event in Las Vegas, with more than 5,000 attendees from 105 countries in attendance. There was plenty for conference goers to discuss, from artificial intelligence technology to Europe’s new arrival program to Virgin’s first space tourism flight. But a few travel trends really stole the show — below are some of the topics I thought were especially interesting coming out of the conference.
1. Continued Travel Industry Growth With Some Slowdown
Much of the talk at Virtuoso Travel Week was about the bullish outlook ahead. At the opening general session, David Kolner, executive vice president for Virtuoso, shared that the network’s year-to-date sales have surpassed those of 2022 for the same January to June timeframe by 37% and are 56% over 2019, with future 2024-2025 sales already up more than 107% over 2019. Overall, 87% of Virtuoso advisors are very optimistic about the future of their businesses.
In addition, Virtuoso expects to see its target market of high net-worth individuals grow worldwide by 16 million (or 34%) over the next two to three years (2026). In 2023, travel and tourism accounts for 9.2% of the global GDP, which is a 23% growth over 2022. What’s more, travel and tourism is expected to increase to 11.6% of global GDP by 2033 — growing almost twice as fast as the overall GDP. In that time, travel and tourism will add nearly 110 million new jobs worldwide.
With such a strong global outlook, is there any slowdown to watch?
Yes, sort of. While nearly all sectors of the travel industry are showing above-average optimism, the one area that is below average is the hotel and resort market. This might be surprising seeing how bookings, average daily rates (ADRs) and overall revenue are still at record levels.
While nearly all sectors of the travel industry are showing above-average optimism, the one area that is below average is the hotel and resort market. This might be surprising seeing how bookings, average daily rates (ADRs) and overall revenue are still at record levels.
But the talk around the conference was that rates in some markets are starting to “normalize.” This is especially true in domestic markets and international sun-and-sand destinations that have already experienced a bounce in visitation due to pent-up demand (such as Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii).
Also, many hoteliers are saying that villa occupancies are softening. This is partly due to a huge increase in the supply of residential-style accommodations, as well as travelers having already traveled in larger family and friend groups now wanting to vacation as a couple or with their immediate family.
2. Niche Markets to Watch: Culinary, Wellness and Foodie Cruises
According to Virtuoso sales figures, a few key types of travel are especially popular these days.
Seventy percent of Virtuoso advisors say they have seen an increase in culinary travel, with 20% of travelers booking trips with food and wine as the primary focus.
Nearly nine out of 10 (87%) of advisors say authenticity is a major motivator, and 53% say hyper-local dining — not just farm-to-table, but neighborhood-to-table — is really taking off. Almost half (48%) say the combination of high/low dining — a mix of Michelin-starred restaurants with street food tours, for example — is an emerging trend.
Another interesting fact here is that while Europe is the primary destination for culinary travel, cruising ranked No. 2, highlighting how the cruise lines have stepped up their culinary game.
A second major niche market is wellness, which 94% of travelers are incorporating into their travel in some way. But the latest trend in wellness is moving away from pampering or indulgence, and toward deeper transformation — some of the advisors defined this as a move from “self-care” to “self-aware.”
While wellness is generally not the main reason, or the standalone reason for a trip, it’s an important part of the itinerary. And while 65% are traveling with a spouse, Virtuoso’s statistics show that almost 60% are traveling solo for wellness. Gen X leads the way, and nearly all (97%) say that separating from the daily stresses of life is the top motivator.
3. Sustainability Accountability
Not surprisingly perhaps, one of the most talked about topics at Virtuoso Travel Week was sustainability. Virtuoso itself as an organization is devoting resources to the issue by naming Javier Arredondo to the newly created position of vice president of sustainability.
In the past, much of the sustainability information gathered by Virtuoso was anecdotal. One of Arredondo’s major initiatives is creating an ongoing survey of the sustainability efforts of Virtuoso partners.
The initial survey of just 215 of Virtuoso’s partners showed that they are responsible for more than 3,000 sustainability initiatives — 50% of those efforts are around protecting the planet, 30% on celebrating cultures and 20% on supporting local economies.
In particular, Virtuoso partners are actively working to preserve almost 18 million acres of land (larger than the size of Ireland) and offsetting 200,000 metric tons of carbon (the equivalent to 1.3 million trees). One of the areas that Virtuoso executives were most proud of is that 81% of partners have programs that are focused on gender equality and empowering women and girls.
Supporting Indigenous cultures and empowering women and girls are two top sustainability objectives.
Credit: 2023 Carlos/stock.adobe.comPartners said that 88% of travelers want programs that protect the planet — with recycling being the top consideration — 69% of travelers are looking to promote and support Indigenous culture and communities and 59% interested in programs that support local economies.
4. Travel Advisor Satisfaction: Fire Life-Sucking Clients
There’s been a lot written and discussed throughout the travel industry about travel advisor burnout, and for the first time, Virtuoso asked its advisors about their own happiness.
When asked “To what extent does your current business support your well-being and enable you to maintain a fulfilling work and personal life,” the majority (79%) said they are either “extremely” or “somewhat” fulfilled.
Close your eyes. If someone [on the negative end] immediately comes to mind, you might want to fire that client.
Matthew D. Upchurch, chairman and CEO of Virtuoso, said the satisfaction of its advisors is a core part of the organization’s mission, calling it “the intersection of ROI (Return on Investment) and ROL (Return on Life).” He pointed out how, in 2001, Virtuoso changed its mission statement to say that travel advising should be not only a financially rewarding profession, but personally rewarding, as well.
"When we redid our mission statement in 2001, we wanted our network to increase compensation, as well as personal fulfillment,” Upchurch said. “I’m incredibly proud of that because if you look ahead 20 years later, the fact that we actually had personal fulfillment in a mission statement, feels so appropriate now.”
Upchurch said advisors should not only protect their time, but their life energy. He discussed the importance of advisors choosing not to work with those clients who have a “life-sucking” effect on the advisor.
"You know what I mean,” he said to the audience during the opening general session. “On one end [of the spectrum] you have the client who, when you see the caller ID, you cringe. At the other end, you have the clients who fill your heart whenever you hear their voices. Close your eyes. If someone [on the negative end] immediately comes to mind, you might want to fire that client.”
5. The Cruise Comeback
A final quick note on one more topic of interest at Virtuoso Travel Week: The strong rebound of the cruise industry. For those who said cruising will not come back post-pandemic, future Virtuoso cruise sales are up 160% compared to where they were in 2019 and 44% over 2022.
Apparently cruising, along with most of the rest of the travel industry, can look forward to smooth sailing ahead.
