Industry Leaders Presented Insights Into the Future of Luxury Travel to a Crowded Room at the Luxperience Thought Leaders Forum Last Night

It was standing room only at Luna Park last night as industry leaders shared their insights into luxury travel trends.

Presenters from all aspects of the industry, including Anne Biging from Healing Hotels, Serena Bratton from expedition cruise company Companie du Ponant and Jacqui Spice from bespoke luxury tour company A Touch of Spice, all agree that luxury travel has now become a transformation economy.

Luxury travel is no longer (just) about being pampered at 5-star luxury hotels. Today's high-end travellers want more from their holiday experience, they want immersive experiences that will change the way they view the world.

Healing Hotels' Anne Biging encouraged operators to look at their clients as people, not clients, offer them choices and find out what they really want, while Sarina Bratton, Jacqui Spice and Marilynne Paspaley all agreed that successful tourism operators need to provide guests with unique, bespoke experiences.

The results of two research projects commissioned by Luxperience were also presented at the event last night, including insights into the trends in luxury hotel design from Flinders University sociologist Dr Eduardo de la Fuente ,and some surprising results from an in depth quantitative survey of high-end Chinese travellers which were presented by Chris Farquhar of Cimigo Research.

Less is more in the lap of luxury, as grand opulent hotels make way for sleek, minimalist design according to de la Fuente, a trend that is reflected by exhibitors at Luxperience this year.

“The popularity of sleek, minimalist interiors has grown in the home and work environment over the past couple of decades, and it's also extended to the luxury tourism trade,” he said.

Chris Farquhar, had some good news to share with Australian operators about the Chinese luxury travel market; according to Cimigo's research, commissioned by Luxperience, Australia tops the list as their favourite destination, with 61 per cent expressing a desire to visit.

Also apparently ardent Francophiles, Chinese luxury travellers rate France  as their second favourite destination. 80 per cent of respondents expressed an interest in French wine tourism and 26 per cent were excited by the prospect of French dining.

For further information on the research papers, please contact:
Deborah Dickson-Smith Email: deborahzoe42@gmail.com Ph: 0419 618 466

About Luxperience 
Luxperience is an exclusive business exchange for local and international travel trade held in the Australasia and Pacific region connecting the world's most elite travel providers. The three and half- day business exchange from 31 August - 3 September 2014 is a Forum for ideas and collaboration dedicated to matching the needs of high-end experiential travel buyers with inspiring suppliers. The inaugural Luxperience in September 2012 laid the foundations for an event in Australasia and the Pacific that aims to raise the profile of the region as an innovator in true experiential travel. Future events will maintain the intimacy of a growing community that is committed to high quality and inspirational travel experiences. For further information on Luxperience, please visit: www.luxperience.com.au.
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