Luxury Travel: Virtuoso Insights for Fall Vacation Ideas

Where is luxury travel headed now as fall vacation plans swing into motion? Luxury travelers worldwide are a category of their own with such consortiums as the Virtuoso network plying the path and shoring up the opportunities. To that end, Virtuoso recently announced results from data and insights gathered through its network of travel advisors, preferred partners and high net worth/ultra-high net worth clientele. The information from this data warehouse of more than $49.5 billion in transactions and an ongoing series of surveys showed that during the travel resurgence of 2022, luxury travelers have led the way forward, even in the face of covid variants, travel restrictions, and overwhelmed airports. That momentum continues fall vacation season gets underway. 

Both inbound and outbound leisure and luxury travel sales are booming, in some cases surpassing 2019 levels, and booking windows have normalized back to pre-pandemic numbers (which explains why it’s so hard to find deals and discounts). Despite the challenges, it’s undeniable that the future is bright, with travel sales in 2023 pacing 47%  higher than 2019.

Luxury Travel is Back

+ Luxury travel is ready to resume pre-pandemic travel norms and luxury travelers have consistently led the way, even during shaky times. In January 2022, 85% said they were in a ready-to-travel mindset and 86% planned to take an international trip. Fast forward to summer 2022, even airports overwhelmed with air traffic and lost baggage is not a deterrent. 

+ When it comes to recovery, the spend for outbound leisure travel is expected to outpace actual travel (i.e., the volume of people on the ground). According to Tourism Economics, in some markets, like Australia, U.K., and France, the differential between the two is quite slim. For others, like Mexico, China, and Brazil, the spend is expected to return years ahead of the number of outbound travelers. 

+ Outbound leisure travel sales have shown a strong rebound, even in markets where borders only recently opened up. The U.S. has already outperformed 2019 numbers for 2022 by 122%, Australia by 113% and Canada – at 80% – is rapidly catching up. Globally, we have surpassed 2019 – travel’s high water mark – for outbound travel booked January-July at 102%. 

Hotel Booking And Others

+ Hotel booking windows are much wider than they were in 2019. Now, the median window for domestic hotels is 58 days (compared to 2019’s 44) and 80 days for international hotels (compared to 60). This is good news for hotels, of course, but for travelers it means more difficulty finding deals and discounts. 

+ 76% of travelers have accepted a “new normal” (up from 35% in January 2022), with many travelers making peace with all the uncertainty and volatility. Now, the number of travelers who were put off by traveling in January 2022 has dropped by 26 points (from 38% to 12%). 

+ Future sales of travel in 2023 are pacing 47% higher than 2019—great news for cruising, which is leading the way with heavy bookings in 2023. 

+ According to Tourism Economics, global outbound leisure spending won’t fully bounce back until Q2 2024 exceeding 2019 levels by 21% by 2024. And from there, the numbers keep climbing, surging to 55% of 2019 levels by 2026. 

+ 74% of Virtuoso travelers say “creating a travel experience that best fits my expectations is more important than price,” with plans to increase their previous year’s spend of $20,700 per person by 34% to $27,800 in the next year 

Fall Vacation Travel: Where are Luxury Travelers Headed and How?

+ How are people traveling? The most popular way is traveling with a spouse or significant other, followed by traveling with friends and family trips with kids under 18. While traveling with friends showed a slight decrease (from 46% in 2019 to 36% in 2022), it’s still the second-most popular form of travel. 

+ Solo travel is on the rise—but not in the way you might expect. Interestingly, among Virtuoso clients, the highest level of interest is coming from the 65+ age group, increasing from 4% in 2019 to 18% in 2022. Meanwhile, the interest among travelers ages 18-34 has dropped from 12% in 2019 to 6% in 2022. 

+ Younger, richer travelers are getting out there in a big way. The 18-34 age group averaged 2.2  more international trips in the past year than the 65+ age group and 1.3 more domestic trips. DIY travelers took about the same number of trips in the past year as Virtuoso-advised travelers, but the latter took longer trips, spending more nights in hotels, rentals, and cruises and skewed more toward international trips. 

+ 78% of travelers say they’re ready to travel now. For 87% of those polled, the dollar’s parity with the Euro plays a factor. And only 35% say that this summer’s air travel complications have caused them to cancel or postpone plans. 

Temperature And Others

+ The hottest global summer destinations? The United States, Italy, France, Canada, and Greece come out on top, followed by the U.K., Spain, Mexico, Ireland, and Switzerland. 

+ The U.S., Italy, France, Mexico, and Canada are among the top international destinations for September- December 2022. And hotel bookings for fall and festive travel (September 1 to January 15) made through July of this year are at 173% of where they were at the same point in 2019. 

+ While 45% of people say they’re ready to travel now or within the next 3 months, 38% say it will be 6-12 months before they do so.

+ Disconnecting from the routine and stresses of home and connecting with new people, cultures, and ideas are primary reasons for travel in 2022. 

+ Purpose-driven travel remains paramount. Environmentally-friendly philosophies and practices and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage are top-of-mind concerns, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. And many are willing to pay more—56% of Gen Z and 46% of Millennials for eco- friendly tourism practices and 58% of Gen Z and 52% of Millennials for travel that preserves natural and cultural heritage. 

Fall Travel Forecast 2022

+ When it comes to festive/holiday travel, many people are ready to make plans, even amid the uncertainty of traveling during a pandemic. In 2020, only 16% were comfortable planning and making adjustments later if need be, and now that’s up to 28%. And in 2020, people waiting to book until closer to their travel date was 22%; that’s now consistently down to 15%. 

+ In terms of the motive behind holiday travel, 71% will travel for vacation, while 21% will travel to see family and friends. 

+ Islands and beaches are topping travelers’ lists for holiday travel, followed by trips with a wellness component, an ocean cruise, and cities outside the U.S. 62% will travel to multiple destinations, while 38% will travel to a single destination. Notably, wellness-focused trips were the only category to see a year over year increase: 2021 (13%) versus 2022 (24%). 

+ Among the 18-34 age group, high-end travelers seek out (and are willing to pay more for) travel brands/experiences that focus on environmentally-friendly philosophies, those that contribute to local people and that also preserve natural and cultural heritage. 

+ Booking trends are indicative of a strong fall season during which volume will remain above 2019 levels. 

+ Across all countries: through July, hotel and in-destination leisure booking volume is at 157% of 2019 levels. 

+ While the United States still leads all countries by a significant margin in total hotel and on-site booking volume, Europe will continue to be a hugely popular regional destination market. 

+ Trips to the Caribbean islands seem to be gaining popularity through the rest of 2022 and into 2023.