Surge in Experiential Luxury Travel Drives Growth in Boutique Trade Shows

Luxury Travel News

The Skift New Luxury column is our weekly column focused on the business of selling luxury travel, the people and companies creating and selling experiences, emerging trends, and the changing consumer habits around the sector.

ILTM, the big kahuna of luxury travel, is taking place in Cannes this week. The trade show, which matches high-end travel suppliers with buyers from around the world, is welcoming a record number of attendees this year. About 5,000 people will be milling about the Palais des Festivals.

I can say from personal experience, having attended the show a couple of years ago, that the gargantuan size of the event makes it feel overwhelming. Not to mention that in the sea of attendees, there is little room for the serendipity that occurs when you happen to just bump into someone.

That is one reason why niche luxury conferences are finding success among the high-end travel crowd. Exchanges like Pure and Duco Travel Summit, which we profile this week, match up suppliers and buyers in ways similar to the ILTM model but on a much more manageable scale. These highly curated conferences that help create meaningful connections mirror the kinds of exclusive travel experiences they showcase — and that today’s luxury travelers are seeking.

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet me @dailysuitcase.

— Laura Powell, Skift Luxury Editor

5 Looks at Luxury

The Duco Travel Summit Marketplace is held in grand surroundings in Florence, Italy. Photo: Duco Travel Summit

Niche Luxury Travel Boom Creates Demand for Exclusive Trade Shows: Luxury travel during the past decade has taken off exponentially, driven by growing wealth around the world. It’s a natural progression that niche trade shows are popping up to cater to the demand.

Pitching Personalized Boutique Meeting Spaces Over Cavernous Convention Halls: As the boutique trend sweeps the events industry, a handful of venue providers are jostling for top spot. London’s Etc. Venues thinks its “laser focus” will allow it to stand out in the United States, but will it be able to compete with more established U.S. players like Convene?

Africa Needs to Make Conservation a Growth Industry: If leaders continue to look at African conservation as a charitable cause, it is doomed. As a growth industry — yes, an industry — that creates jobs and economic mobility, there is still hope for a sustainable future driven by the very young population on the continent.

How IHG’s Latest Regional Revamp Is Rankling Asia Hotel Owners: InterContinental Hotels Group isn’t afraid to change how the traditional hotel chain is organized and structured. Its latest move is making sub-regional heads directly accountable for development — even if that risks having owners think it prioritizes its own pipeline over their hotels’ performance. Some in Asia already do.

How the California Wildfires Are Impacting Tourism: Several years of devastating wildfires have taken a toll on California tourism but have not affected overall visitor numbers. Instead, the fires have changed the way the state markets itself and made it harder for tourism employees to live in California.

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Skift Luxury Editor Laura Powell [[email protected]] curates the New Luxury newsletter. Skift emails the newsletter every Tuesday.

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