THE BUSINESS OF CRAFTING EXPERIENCES BY REGENT HONG KONG
What luxury travellers are seeking in 2024 and how an iconic Hong Kong hotel reenvisions the guest experience What is trending for luxury travel in 2024 and what kind of experiences are most sought after? As per the 2024 Virtuoso® Luxe Report “travelers are increasingly demonstrating a committed sense of adventure and urgency for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in far-flung locations.” The annual Luxe Report highlights consumer preferences and upcoming trends in high-end luxury travel. For this year’s report and travel predictions, global luxury and experiential travel network Virtuoso surveyed its travel agency members and advisors across more than 50 countries. In the report, Japan is at the top of reemerging destinations. Travellers also want to rediscover Southeast Asia, with Thailand and Vietnam on many ‘must-see’ lists in 2024. With this renewed global interest in Asia, hopefully Hong Kong will also reap the benefits as both an in-demand hub and stop on multi-destination travels in the region. A focus for many is the value of time and the significance of how and with whom we spend it. Amongst the top trends and motivations in luxury travel for 2024 are celebration travel, family travel (with immediate family) and multigenerational travel. Despite inflation and global unrest, clients of Virtuoso travel advisors still plan to pursue their travel aspirations and are willing to pay for new experiences, with more than half of advisors surveyed expecting travel demand and spend per trip to increase this year. Accordingly to a recent Deloitte article on the future of luxury travel, “Despite the rise of online research and travel bookings, high-end travellers are turning to luxury travel agents for unique and hassle-free travel experiences. Customer demand for one stop solutions is also leading to cross-brand alliances… enabling unique and comprehensive experiences.” 29
