Virgin Galactic is now discreetly soliciting interest in Asia, on the lookout for people with an out-of-this-world sense of adventure matched with an astronomically large bank account for trips on its space tourism flights. For anyone in Asia ready to boldly go where few have gone before, Hong Kong-based luxury travel agent Intriq Journey was recently appointed Virgin Galactic’s agent in the continent. “But this is not like purchasing luxury goods,” explains James Willoughby, the vice-president and general manager of customer operations at Virgin Galactic.
“This is about investing in yourself, to experience things that will take you further, [that] let you embrace science and technology and our planet.” When talking about such exclusive expeditions for millionaire clientele, a very different customer lexicon is used. “We’re not open to the public in the sense of selling tickets, since we only have a limited number of space flights,” Willoughby says.
“Broadly speaking, we are taking referrals. Each referral that comes to us, we see that individual as adding to the community.”.