One thing is clear for 2017's luxury travel trends: the costs are still up there and having one would still require an effort to save or earn extra income to afford. But luxury is now focused less on pleasurable materialistic amenities and more on its emotional content for travelers according to observers. Here are five trends for luxury travels in 2017.
During the International Luxury Travel Market Festival, a meeting of huge hotel chains in Cannes akin to the Film Festival, luxury is now a term that brands are focusing on the "precious, rare" and something "invested in emotional value." This also means possible drive down costs relatively. According to National Geographic Travel, AmaWaterways' Gary Murphy believes "defining one's luxury" could mean "a five-star river cruise" or "a surfing camp with no electricity."
Souvenirs were also said to be out of the question during the festival. According to Future Laboratory Co-Founder Chris Sanderson, a luxury item is not as much as it used to mean in the past. Travel experiences and social media validation have better value in today's luxury travel.
According to Forbes, citing Virtuoso's findings in its Virtuoso Luxe Report, luxury travelers want more travel in destinations with "a sense of urgency" before these places disappear. Examples include the glaciers of the Arctic -- affected immensely by the troubling effects of global warming -- and tropical forests losing ground from illegal logging and forest fires.
Virtuoso's Luxe Report indicated travelers -- including luxury travelers -- find it pleasurable to "take cooking classes" and still, "dine at a world-class restaurant" to taste the best version of local delicacies. The statement iterates the Luxury Travel Market Festival's sentiment of experience versus material impressions.
Lastly, both the Festival and the Luxe Report indicate that travelers want something fresh -- a vacation spot rarely found or is still waiting to be found by either developers or other travelers. As far as "precious, rare and emotionally invested moments" go, finding a rare vacation spot unknown to everyone -- and the pride of finding it first -- is the most luxurious of them all.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
