Abercrombie & Kent MD on the biggest new trends in luxury travel

Experiential travel seems to be the biggest buzzword in travel at the moment.

We’re constantly hearing about how travellers are seeking out authentic experiences and cultural emersion.

This seems to be particularly true in the case of luxury travel, where guests are increasingly choosing to spend more money on authentic experiences rather than luxury for the sake of it.

Well, now we have research to back these claims up.

A new study from Abercrombie & Kent has found that 83 per cent of respondents agreed that authentic travel experiences are as important as premium accommodation.

81 per cent also said luxury travel is as much about adventure as service and comfort.

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The luxury travel company surveyed a representative group of their luxury traveller client base, comprised mostly of travellers aged 50 years and older (83 per cent), from a wealthier income bracket of between $200k and $500k, with a majority retired, (38 per cent) female travellers (66 per cent).

We had a chat with Sujata Raman, Regional Managing Director of Abercrombie & Kent, Asia Pacific to find out more about the results of the survey and how the luxury travel market is changing.

Raman told us she is already seeing a greater desire for, and a greater willingness to pay for travel that has more of an experiential, intellectual or social dimension.

“For our travellers, it has never been just about staying in nice hotels and eating great food,” she said.

“True luxury is the ability to go off the beaten track in relative comfort, to venture behind the scenes, to enjoy authentic experiences that only the locals know, to come away from a trip feeling enriched.”

Abercrombie & Kent has been leading the way in luxury adventure travel since the company began in the early 1960s, originating in East Africa.

“The founding family started operating luxury tented safaris and taking along the family silverware and finest china – taking people out of their comfort zones in comfort,” Raman said.

“The company’s pioneering spirit of luxury adventure is just as integral now in a global network of 55 offices and 2,500 travel experts, creating private and small group journeys to more than 100 countries around the world.”

Another interesting finding of the survey was that nearly half (49 per cent) of respondents now believe travel comes with a philanthropic responsibility (only eight per cent disagreed) and 79 per cent said travel makes the world a better place.

“We’ve always been aware that travel comes with a unique responsibility to do what we can to leave the world a better place than we found it, to respect the natural environment and benefit the peoples whose lands we visit.”

“The motivations for travel are changing generally; our best and most loyal clients are really lifelong learners, ever-inquisitive about the world and their place in it, keen to meet and better understand other peoples, other places, other life experiences.”

“Travel is for these people an avocation, a calling, a thirst for knowledge and first-hand experiences.”

Raman said that another big change in luxury travel is the shifts in destination popularity.

“We’re seeing more and more interest in emerging European destinations, the Baltic States, Poland, and smaller cities in Germany or regional areas of France and Italy, where it is still possible to have a genuine European experience and meet and mix with locals rather than just being in the tourism bubble,” she said.

“What’s perhaps more surprising in the research is the countries that appear at the very top of the places luxury travellers most want to visit in future.”

“Japan is currently the number 1 most desirable destination for luxury travellers.”

“Iceland and Morocco are also in the top 3, and Iran is in the top 10, ahead of the UK and Canada, which shows that luxury travel really is no longer just about five-star hotels and private airport transfers.”

“But then we know it never was.”

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abercrombie & kent adventure travel experiential travel luxury travel sujata raman