Luxury Travelers: What They Want, How They Choose – New Skift Research

The new Skift Research report, The Luxury Traveler: Survey Findings, delves deep into luxury travel – the preferences, behaviors, and perspectives of affluent travelers.

We structured it in five sections:

1: Understanding Luxury Travel: We look at the significance of travel for the affluent demographic, shedding light on what it truly means to them. And we consider their opinions on sustainability, wellness, adventure tourism, hybrid work, and other factors. 

2: Travel Inspiration and Planning: We examine the factors that inspire luxury travelers and the sources they turn to for planning their journeys. Furthermore, we explore their unique planning approaches and uncover the diverse purposes behind their travels, including the emerging trend of blended travel experiences. We investigate their destination choices, travel companions, trip durations, preferred travel products, and their views on travel insurance.

3: Travel and Accommodation Preferences: Here, we explore the modes of transportation chosen by luxury travelers, from commercial flights to private jets. We also examine their accommodation preferences, including hotels, vacation rentals, and cruises, offering insights into their choices and expectations.

4: In-Destination Trends: This section unveils the dynamics of luxury travelers’ spending habits and in-destination preferences. We analyze their travel expenditures, including for airport clearance programs, and provide insights into their in-destination activities and preferences.

5: Luxury Travel Outlook-Next 12 Months: Finally, we look to the future and the upcoming travel plans of luxury travelers. We explore their intended destinations, travel frequency, intentions versus actual bookings, and how their travel budgets may be evolving.

This report serves as a comprehensive guide for businesses, destinations, and industry stakeholders looking to understand and cater to the unique needs and aspirations of luxury travelers in a rapidly changing world of travel.

What You’ll Learn From This Report

• Understanding Luxury Travel 
• Travel Inspiration and Planning
• Travel and Accommodation Preferences​
• In-Destination Trends
• ​Luxury Travel Outlook: Next 12 Months

This is the latest in a series of reports and data products that Skift Research puts out to help you analyze the biggest trends in the travel industry. Tap into the opinions and insights of our seasoned network of staffers and contributors. More than 200 hours of desk research, data collection, and/or analysis goes into each report.

By subscribing to Skift Research, you will gain access to our entire vault of reports conducted on topics ranging from technology to marketing strategy to deep dives on key travel brands. You will also be able to access our proprietary Skift Travel Health Index, Skift Travel Company Tracker, Hotel Tech Benchmark, and data from our regular traveler surveys.