Hitting the suite spot in the luxury travel market

Luxury travel is nothing new. But with the global luxury travel market currently valued at USD 1,328.1 billion and expected to reach USD 2,762 billion in 2032, we think it’s worth spending some time ensuring your brand is at the epicenter of this growth.

Rachel Manning Director 02/05/2023

As the western world continues to flux in economic uncertainty, it makes sense that people are choosing to spend their money on the one thing that cannot lose its value: experiences. Namely luxury experiences that enhance and fulfill their lives.

With 74% of millionaires planning to spend on luxury travel this year (source: Savanta’s MillionaireVue), and shooting up to nine in 10 (92%) amongst 18-34-year-old HNWIs, it’s vital that we understand where that spend is going…

Here at Savanta we have some theories:

1. Reinvention of wellness

Just a few years ago, wellness simply meant checking into your favorite hotel or luxury spa, which offers healthy food, fantastic treatments and a gym/golf course. And whilst you arguably can’t go wrong with these options, luxury wellness has now expanded to a far wider reach of restorative activities.

The past six months have seen huge growth within the world of luxury wellness travel, with offerings spanning: meditations, forest bathing, chakra therapy and Cryo chambers, to name a few, leaving a simple spa starting to look somewhat skin deep.

So, whether luxury travellers are looking for a new-age spiritual adventure, a passion project of self-discovery, or science driven health retreat, an abundance of wellness retreats are popping up globally to meet these needs.

Trend in Action: At the start of year Naviva, a luxury tented resort, in New Mexico, opened as part of a Four Seasons expansion to widespread acclaim. The unspoiled nature retreat proclaims it has created an authentic environment that fosters growth and learning for all guests. With only 15 luxury tents nestled in 48 acres of land and overlooking the Pacific Ocean, this is truly where luxury and wellness intertwine.

As luxury travellers continue to look for holistic, transformative experiences, we think that this is a space ripe for exponential growth.

How can your brand align with this wellness focus in an authentic way? What treatments or experiences can you offer to elevate the experience you provide to your clients?

2. The rise of ultra all-inclusive

Historically luxury travellers haven’t bought into the all-inclusive package holiday, preferring to explore and sample local Michelin restaurants or access excursions from more exclusive sources. However, we believe that with the craving for ease and simplicity, alongside the development of some spectacular all-inclusive resorts, we might see this change in 2023. Welcome to the world of ultra all-inclusive.

Ultra all-inclusives have been created to elevate the travel experience to include: exclusive dining, exceptional suites and private pools,curated experiences and excursions – all within one package, and out of the reach of the average traveller. This is worlds away from your average all-inclusive.

Trend in Action: Rixos The Palm hotel, Dubai. Dubai is already known for its extravagance, but this hotel takes it to the next level with a breadth of incredible culinary delights available only to Ultra guests. Additionally, Siyam World in the Maldives, has seen a number of celebrities visiting its all-inclusive resort, showing the rise in popularity across the board when it comes to these types of breaks.

All-inclusives are even trending on TikTok, highlighting their rising popularity and perhaps indicating that this is a trend led by a younger Millennial or Gen Z audience.

Are there ways to incorporate an all-inclusive opportunity within your offer? How might the desire for specialness, alongside ease and simplicity manifest in your sector?

3. The stepping out of the solo traveller

Many have toyed with the idea of solo travel, but 2023 might just be the year that we go ahead and do it. Google search volumes for ‘solo travel’ have risen over 130% in the past 12 months, and it’s not only backpackers driving this trend.

Solo travel provides the freedom to choose your own itinerary, excursions and follow up on passions with cookery courses, so it’s easy to see why it’s growing in popularity.

To meet the demand of this growing audience there’s an increasing number of businesses specializing in delivering exceptional luxury travel experiences for solo travellers, comprising of solo itineraries and group style interactions.

Trend in Action: Coral Reef Club, is one of the most luxurious locations to stay in the Caribbean and it holds four queen rooms exclusively for solo travellers to enjoy.

How are you meeting the demand for solo travellers? How else can we imagine the desire for solo experiences growing?

Ready to find our how you can elevate your brand in the luxury travel market? Get in touch with our team at: [email protected]

MillionaireVue

Millionaires can be an elusive audience, but at Savanta we make access easy. Our unique MillionaireVue omnibus helps luxury brands and wealth managers find out what they need to know from high net worth individuals across the world’s wealthiest markets in the USA, UK, China and Europe.

An ideal solution for intelligent, cost-effective insights. Find out more here.