2022’s luxury travelers want more than first-class and 5-star hotels. While those “luxuries” still matter, high-end travelers are also looking for other types of exclusive experiences, such as bespoke culinary opportunities, bucket list trips, and other highly personalized getaways. They are planning to stay away longer and spend more too.
And to make sure those experiences are everything they expect, luxury travelers are increasingly seeking out advisors and agents to take on all of the work that goes into planning the perfect trip.
That’s one of the big takeaways from our new report, The Luxe Life: Luxury Travel’s Role in the Industry’s Recovery, which examines the current attitudes and plans of 648 luxury travelers from the United States.
Agents and advisors are as popular as ever as travelers look to assure a personalized, high-end experience while also factoring in all the health, safety and cancellation policies into their planning. More than half of those surveyed plan to use a travel advisor in 2022, because, as one traveler summed it up, “One call does it all.”
Many luxury travelers view agents and advisors as indispensable. 88% of those we surveyed see travel agents as a one-stop point of contact for their trips. 85% believe they are the best way to get a personalized travel experience. And 74% believe it’s the only way to get a true luxury travel experience. Those who plan to use a travel agent in the next year cite specific benefits such as better organization, valuable information about traveling, increased safety and comfort, and the ability for agents to find better deals.
In their own words:
“Agents offer me the convenience of having every aspect of our trip pulled together in one comprehensive plan.”
“I've always used agents because they can connect me with local expertise.”
“I want to make sure I meet all the COVID-19 requirements for travel overseas, rather than be caught at the last minute.”
Over the last two years, the environment created by COVID has increased the demand for agents and advisors as well. The luxury travelers we surveyed are wary of changing travel regulations and restrictions, meeting country-specific requirements, and dealing with Covid-related travel changes and cancellations. Having an agent to sort through all those complexities and take care of everything for them provides an added layer of protection and valuable peace of mind.
We’ll take a closer look at luxury travel in a post-COVID world in our next post.
Learn more
For more on why luxury travelers are turning to agents and advisors, how they’re making decisions and where they plan to go, download the complete report: The Luxe Life: Luxury Travel’s Role in the Industry’s Recovery.
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