Luxury tours and activities set to boom
When it comes to luxury travel, real capital is being converted into cultural capital as luxury travellers buy into the experience economy through unique tours and activities finds EyeforTravel’s The Global Luxury Travel Consumer report.
The tours and activities sector will be one of key beneficiaries from a booming luxury travel market as big-spending consumers put more of their disposable income into finding unique experiences according to the research.
At the very top of the market this is developing into ever more outlandish experiences, with Chinese luxury consumers developing an interest in polar exploration and space tourism becoming a real possibility.
The report notes that the demand for luxury experiences is driving luxury brands to create new products that fit into their clientele's desire for unique experiences. Ritz-Carlton announced that it is building a series of three luxury cruise liners that are due to launch from 2019 and several hotels, such as the Wellesley London, the Four Seasons in the Maldives, and the Borgo Santo Pietro Tuscany, operate superyachts for their clientele and charge in the tens of thousands of dollars. Tour operator Abercrombie & Kent and hotel group Four Seasons have fitted out Boeing 757s for chartered flights and hotels have branched out into cruise travel.
The desire to create lasting experiences is pushing luxury consumers to more complex itineraries and so pushing them towards booking their tours and activities further out from the date of departure than the average traveller. Just 14% of luxury travellers surveyed in the report booking their vacation activities while on vacation compared to 35.8% among the rest of the survey. Instead, 54.8% of high-end consumers prefer to make bookings between one and four weeks before they depart versus 31.5% of non-luxury travellers. This reverses the trend seen in flight and accommodation booking, where luxury travellers book later. The kind of experience that is becoming the hallmark of the luxury traveller stands above the average traveller's mass cultural activity and is therefore far more likely to be something that needs to be booked in advance.
However, the report notes that there is significant geographic variation in terms of the types of experiences luxury travellers are looking for. Whilst Chinese luxury consumers are looking towards more exoticism and adventure, in the case of Japan wealth and leisure time are overwhelmingly in the hands of older consumers. In this market adventure is less important and comfort and service are more emphasized, with domestic trips and cruises experiencing big growth in the country's luxury travel market.
This detailed report looks at the state of the overall market currently and breaks down individual country markets, luxury consumer behaviors and spending patterns, and gives you the major trends to look out for.
Become a member of EyeforTravel On Demand now and access the full report, which includes:
- Country analysis of the major luxury travel markets in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, covering both developed and emerging economies.
- Unique proprietary data based on more than 2,000 luxury travel consumers.
- Behavioral analysis of luxury travellers, including lead times, device usage, booking patterns, and spending habits.
- Major trends and developments in the luxury travel market.
- Data taken and analysed from nearly 100 different sources.
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