What do luxury travellers want out of their experiences?
While opulent, five-star experiences won’t disappear any time soon, immersive experiences that connect travellers to local people, culture, and nature are seeing a growing demand.
“The idea of luxury continues to evolve conceptually,” Shannon Knapp, President and CEO of Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), told Forbes.
According to Travel Weekly, 78% of new luxury travel consumers are choosing to spend their money on experiences that will create a lasting memory. “The opportunity to connect via memorable and meaningful experiences ensures maximum retention of brand knowledge for each of our business owners. And a lot of fun, which is another key element of building lasting connections,” comments Dani Galloway, Global MD of Luxury & Independent Leisure at Flight Centre Travel Group.
Captive audience
Statistics from Future Market Insights value the global luxury travel market at US$2.26 trillion (R41 trillion). This is expected to reach R77 trillion in the next 10 years, growing at an average of 6.5% each year.
The drive towards more immersive experiences is currently being fuelled by Millennial and Gen Z luxury travellers, who account for a significant portion of the growth in luxury spend.
“Their desire for personalised and immersive experiences is transforming travel, and luxury operators must adapt to create offerings worth their premium price,” says CNA Luxury.
Shannon echoes a similar sentiment.
“Luxury is truly personal. What’s luxury to me is not necessarily luxury for you. You can’t paint the luxury traveller with a single brush. But they are often intellectually curious, and they want to be challenged. And they’re out exploring, contributing and experiencing.”
Africa primed for opportunity
The diversity of immersive experiences that can be enjoyed across the African continent makes it an attractive value proposition for luxury travellers, particularly those who are looking for authenticity.
“Providing a ‘life in first-class’ experience doesn’t mean you should be charging first-class prices, or operating on a first-class budget… The real key, the ‘secret sauce’, is in the stories you tell and how you immerse people in those stories,” says Go South Africa.
In conclusion, the shifting perceptions around luxury travel and what it really means to provide travellers with an experience that they simply can’t get anywhere else means “putting people in the moment, engaging all of their senses. Don’t just feed them, give them food that represents the story. Make sure that whenever people do that tour, they think they are back in that time, they understand the social context, they engage.”
