Partner Features

Travel Insights with TTG Luxury

April Hutchinson, editor of TTG Luxury in the UK, highlights some key trends affecting the

country’s luxury travellers and hears from leaders in the UK’s luxury sector on the issues facing them.

The Sunday Times Rich

List recently reported that Britain’s wealthiest residents enjoyed a record boom over the past year as their fortunes soared by 30% and the country now has 53 billionaires. But while the super rich have been getting even richer, key high-end operators and agents report definite shifts in how the broader luxury market has been behaving. Alison Scott, commercial director of luxury operator Elegant Resorts, says: “The average price per booking has not fallen, but people are taking less holidays annually. We see a big increase in mid-haul trips to places such as Egypt and the Canary Islands whereby clients are looking to fly at a lower cost, but still spend on luxury accommodation.” Sally Booth, marketing director for Eden Collection and Seasons in Style, adds: “We have seen average travel lead time eroded to three weeks and we don’t see this changing. I would

6 TheInsider May 2010

say there is still pent-up demand for people to explore Vietnam, Cambodia, and luxury cruising/yachts, as well as the Middle East and areas of South Africa off the beaten track.” The disruption thrown up

by the volcanic ash cloud has seen a flurry of companies rush to offer ‘no-fly’ holiday options. Agent Andrew Brownrigg of Haselmere Travel in

Whether a nation of

football-lovers will forsake watching the games from the comfort of their homes to travel on holidays is a difficult calculation. To try and solve this familiar dilemma, Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean say they will be screening World Cup games onboard… the perfect solution. ■

Left: Four Season’s Sharm El Sheikh Resort

Surrey says holidays at sea are the hot topic. “Ex-UK cruising is definitely becoming more popular as a result of all the aviation problems,” he says. “Cruising has seen the

most increase for us over the last two years, with an increase in tailor-made itineraries as customers look to add on land-based sections.” The other key factor that

will impact the outbound Market is the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

TTG Luxury is a valued Media Partner of ILTM. For more information on their publication, visit

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