Virtuoso picks Australia as Regional HQ

Virtuoso picks Australia as Regional HQ

Virtuoso has cemented its commitment to growing its luxury travel network in the Asia Pacific region by choosing Australia to be its regional headquarters.

The company’s global ceo and chair, Matthew Upchurch will head to Australia later this month to spearhead expansion plans for Asia, which will include new partnerships in Hong Kong and Singapore earmarked for 2015.

“Virtuoso has recognised the strong growth in the Asia Pacific region for luxury and that is why Australia has been chosen as the optimum base for regional expansion,” Virtuoso Asia Pacific managing director, Michael Londregan said.

Virtuoso currently has more than 9000 travel advisors globally and a turnover of more than US$14 billion in annual travel sales. The company expanded its primarily US-based presence to Europe and the UK last year. According to US-based news outlets, Virtuoso are also expected to build upon its online presence with plans to add consumer online booking engines on the websites of its agency partners.

“Australia and New Zealand’s travel agency elite have been Virtuoso members for the past 10 years and this strong foundation in the luxury market continues to drive growth for our brand and allows Virtuoso Australia to be perfectly placed to support our Asia expansion,” Londregan said.

During his visit, Upchurch will present data on international luxury travel trends including new research into growth in the segment in the Australian market.

According to Londregan, Australians’ concept of luxury travel has shifted from opulent 5-star treatment to experiential travel “that has a truth of connection and helps people in the race to “collect life experiences””.

“Luxury travel is not just about nice hotels, it is about experiences, new destinations and exploration, and people realise this is an investment in their quality of life,” he said.

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