Luxury Travel Outlook 2017
A roundup of hot trends from the world’s finest luxury hotels, cruise lines, restaurants, and travel experiences. Find out what luxury travel has to offer in 2017 and beyond: Trends, concepts, new resorts and cruise ships and more. The following report is my predictions as well as some of the comments from #TWchats held on Dec. 14. Travel Weekly Chats is an excellent way to connect to travel influencers, suppliers, travel agents, travelers, social-media experts and editors from Travel Weekly and TravelAge West.
Luxury Travel Trends 2017
A top trend in luxury travel is a throwback. According to an article posted on Forbes.com, there is consumers are coming back to professional travel advisors. Research by MMGY Global shows this as a five-year trend, with the largest growth in travel agent usage by Millennials. In fact, the article also mentioned a report from American Express that was released during the International Luxury Travel Mart (ILTM) held in Cannes, France. The statistics reported revealed an 110% increase in intent by consumers to use retail travel agents for this upcoming holiday season and 79% growth in actual usage year over year from 2015 to 2016.
Top Luxurious Destinations for 2017
Top destinations for me include So Cal beach cities like San Diego, European cities along the rivers, and off the beaten path hot spots in Greece, Scandinavia, and Croatia. The Maldives and Iceland are also hot spots. But if I had to pick one over-the-top place to go then it would be Amanpulo on Pamalican Island in the middle of the Philippines.
Check out what other places were top destinations for luxury travelers in 2017:
Luxury Hotels 2017
Savvy hotel brands know how to customize the experience for their guests. Some of my favorite luxury hotels include @FourSeasons @MontageLaguna and @ShangriLaHotels
Luxury Travel Tech
Virtual reality is now applied to different industries, and tourism is one of the scenarios that VR contents are utilized most.
Insta360 Nano turns your iPhone into a 360 VR camera. It shoots and live streams virtual reality panoramic stills and videos directly from an iPhone with one-click sharing to social media channels.
Google Trips App
TheVerge.com described Google Trips as “a killer travel app for the modern tourist.” This app is on my watch list for 2017. The Trips app serves as a trip planner and travel guide for anyone who is exploring a new place. The app (Android and iOS) is free. It organizes your plane tickets and hotel reservations, offers editorial guides to more than 200 cities, and makes personalized recommendations based on your Google history.
Another trend in tech that was reported are the ongoing efforts for travel brands to develop educational programs. Regent Sever Seas, a luxury cruise brand tweeted they were going to “Develop more onboard programs surrounding the instruction of tech and social media for luxury travelers…more to come in 2017!”
Great Luxury-travel amenities
Shipping your luggage is always a luxe way to travel. Imagine not having to deal with those bags at the airport. Divine.