The 4 Major Luxury Travel Trends Of 2022

Luxury travel is changing little by little in order to adapt to new tourism trends and its travelers. New traveler profiles are appearing, with new desires and new needs.

Here are the 4 major trends that influence their choices.

LUXURY TRAVELERS ARE CHANGING

Luxury travel today is no longer just about “expensive” travel. The definition of luxury is much more complex, indeed many luxury travelers are looking for exceptional experiences.

Here are the 3 profiles to remember

• Ultra high net worth luxury travelers seeking the best of everything
• High potential travelers who do not necessarily always want to travel exclusively in a luxury bubble;
• New high-end travelers who are willing to spend a lot but only for exceptional trips

The last 2 profiles wish to mix the offer of traditional luxury with experiences allowing them to mix with the local culture.

LOYALTY IN LUXURY

The personalized follow-up of luxury consumers before, during and after the consumption experience leads to loyalty, this is also quite true in tourism. Luxury travel professionals are developing online content platforms. These platforms are designed to engage the traveler before, during and after their trip.

Thus, hotels nowadays are offering customers Digital Card program that makes it possible for each customer to follow their status within the loyalty program, their preferences in terms of room or pillow, their eating habits, their latest reservations, and any problems they may have when checking out. By relying on the Customer Digital Card, teams will be able to optimize preparation for the arrival of travelers and ensure that their stay goes as smoothly as possible.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND EXPERIENCE SHARING

Today, social media influences travel decision-making across all budget segments and for all generations. Luxury travel brands have especially improved when it comes to social media over the past few years.

The goal of luxury travelers is to have an experience that few have had. They want to capture their memories and share them digitally. It is also a great opportunity for tourism professionals who can exploit user-generated content and use it for their own communication.

New modes of communication are born from its uses, such as the use of influencers to promote its brand to an increasingly solicited public, the fashion and retail sectors are far ahead of the industry. Some tourism professionals are already using augmented reality to help their customers personalize their trip before departure or to share it on social networks.

SECURITY, SIMPLICITY AND EXPERIMENTATION

There has been an exponential increase in interest in wellness and multi-generational luxury space travel over the past two decades, but these are micro-trends. The macro trend that we can see is fear and anxiety in the face of growing insecurity, so the expectations of luxury consumers evolve according to attacks and natural disasters. Luxury customers are looking for: meaning, simplicity and change. Indeed in light of world events, there is a growing demand among luxury travelers for meaningful experiences to safe yet unforgettable destinations.