TORONTO — From Amsterdam to Zambia – and just about everywhere in between – Virtuoso covered the world’s destinations with its luxury travel trends report and travel advisor panel streamed live yesterday from Virtuoso Travel Week. More than 4,700 top professionals from 97 countries are in Las Vegas this week for the 36th annual event, at properties including Bellagio Hotel & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Vdara Hotel & Spa. By the time Virtuoso Travel Week wraps up on Aug.
16, representatives from just about 2,000 companies will have connected via matched morning networking tracks and self-selected afternoon appointments – over 75,000 in total. The powerful turnout underlines Virtuoso’s strength. The luxury and experiential travel network is in 58 countries worldwide, with 20,000 advisors – “and nearly half of those are outside the U.
S.”, says Misty Belles, Virtuoso’s VP, Global Public Relations. Belles delivered Virtuoso’s travel trends report yesterday, prefacing a Virtuoso Advisor Panel discussion.
“NO SLOW DOWN” While for many demand is starting to plateau after the post-pandemic travel frenzy, “we are seeing no slow down,” said Belles. “Travel advisors are in high demand right now. There was a 76% increase in the number of people seeking out a Virtuoso agent this year.
Demand for travel is incredibly high, and we have travellers who can afford it.” Belles offered a quick rundown of the top trends in 2023 .