SPECIAL REPORT forum at the Andaz London last week with more than 250 delegates in attendance. Erica Bush reports Headline sponsor Destination partner
OutThere editor: We must get better at personalisation
With thanks to our sponsors T
he editor-in-chief of luxury travel magazine OutThere encouraged Leaders of Luxury
delegates to eliminate unconscious bias in the workplace and use personalisation as a tool
for promoting greater diversity and inclusion. Uwern Jong told the forum: “As an industry, we are
more in tune with diversity and inclusion than ever before. Yet it seems we still have a long way to go. “For the luxury travel industry, this is not about being
politically correct, nor is this about doing the right thing. The conversation is really about how we all need to get better at personalisation. “Personalised service requires a deep understanding,
knowledge and empathy for guests and customers. And that means making every effort to extract the right and most important information about our customers and then passing the information along the chain to ensure that guests are truly respected when they’re on their holiday. “The sure-fire way to confidently get that information
from our guests is to create a safe and inclusive space to start with by demonstrating that for luxury travel providers, personalisation is important to you and
that everybody is celebrated when in your house.” OutThere’s annual luxury travel trends report showed
a “significant focus” on travellers “wanting to get a better handle on how they navigate the world” with key themes emerging on sustainability and diversity.
Uwern Jong with Aspire editor Hollie-Rae Brader
Two-thirds (66%) of OutThere travellers also said
they would book their next holiday with a travel agent compared with 42% in January 2020. “They’re looking at you,” Jong said. “So in this
land-grab age of potential new customers, demonstrating that you are culturally sensitive and ready to personalise your experience based on who they are will be a competitive advantage. Personalisation is good for brand, but it’s also good for business.”
‘Affluent consumers demonstrate conscious immaterialism’
The affluent traveller now values “precious time” and brand purpose over material items, according to luxury expert Piers Schmidt. The founder of consultancy company Luxury
Branding said the travel industry was seeing the acceleration of “conscious immaterialism” – a shift from the acquisition of things to the accumulation of time. He said: “People want to build memories.
Katie Terrington
travelweekly.co.uk
They’re looking to have shared experiences. There comes a point where you have enough shoes, handbags and watches and there is a diminishing return on the thrill you get from that, but there’s never a diminishing
return from the thrill of finding a new place and meeting new people. “People are also thinking externally about [their impact] and the moral aspects of how they wish to consume and the brands that they align with.” Jo Rzymowska, Celebrity Cruises’ vice-
president and managing director for the EMEA
region, added: “Travelling with purpose of responsible travel is now absolutely at the fore. “One of the key reasons why people are
Piers Schmidt
either joining us as employees or travelling with us is they want to be with like-minded people, so without a doubt, our brand purpose is really paying off and makes a difference to the target audience that we’re going after.”
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PICTURES: Sarah Lucy Brown
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