Luxury Travel

Luxury Travel is a booming business in the 21st Century with substantial expansion by high-end hoteliers venturing into the world's most exotic locations. Luxury travel is not complete without amazing meals and awe-defining wines. Luxury travel is diametrically opposed to traveling on budget.

Travel is more global now and every luxury property is trying to outdo the last hotel. Travelers from Russia are displaying an insatiable appetite for opulent luxury with Egypt and Turkey being their top vacation destinations, while luxury travelers from North America focus more on value.

Luxury travel has grown rapidly over the last decade and is now the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry, industry observers say. Luxury travelers are seeking rare and authentic experiences, privacy and exclusivity in their accommodations and extraordinary service and cuisine.

Luxury Travel Magazine notes that the hot new luxury destinations for 2007 and beyond, include Asia and the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, Africa and the Indian Ocean, Eastern Europe and South America. But the traditionally hedonistic nature of luxury travel is in many cases now tempered by the desirability of having an educational component in a luxury vacation. A recent survey of leading full-service luxury and boutique propertiesconfirms what many hotel management teams have known for some time: thenumber of well-travelled hotel guests is increasing and they are demandingmore services than in the past.

"People are really spending again on luxury travel, and the number-one reason we attribute it to is the stock market" says Matthew Upchurch, managing director of API Travel Consultants in Fort Worth, Texas. Most luxury travel is not health conscious, and most ecotours lack comfort.

"Luxury hotels are increasingly being designed by world-famous architects such as Frank Gehry's Hotel Marques de Riscal, which opened a few months ago in Spain. Europe leads the way in one-of-a-kind luxury hotels being converted from historic palaces, castles, convents and monasteries. Brendan Carlin, hotel manager for the Mosaic Hotel in Beverly Hills, California said, The demand for luxury boutique hotels has increased because guests receive personal treatment in a smaller property; they do not get lost in a crowd.

Recommended Reading from the ASTA Bookshelf: Luxury Travel: Your Passport to Profit — Luxury travel is more profitable than almost any other travel segment. DESCRIPTIONLuxury travel is more profitable than almost any other travel segment. But the traditionally hedonistic nature of luxury travel is in many cases now tempered by the desirability of having an educational component in a luxury vacation. Demand for luxury travel is growing fast, but local consumer still find it hard to choose the right luxury travel product. Whatever your destination, the key to luxury travel is attention to detail — no amenity can be overlooked, no comfort can be neglected. So luxury travel is an obvious choice.