The curators and tastemakers of the global luxury travel industry have converged at the annual International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) in Cannes, the proceedings kicking off with a host of social parties and soirees where some the world's most eminent brands chose to reveal their exciting news.
Black ties and bubbly
At a glamorous black-tie gala dinner at held at Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Sunday evening, The Oetker Collection revealed two new properties are set to debut in the coming years: the Palacio Taagara in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2017 and New York City (2018) in the Sony Building at 550 Madison Avenue.
At lunch hosted by FRHI Hotels & Resorts at Villa Saint-George, Jennifer Fox, president, FRHI International and Fairmont Brand highlighted the brand's growth over the past six months particularly in Indonesia, which has included the opening of Raffles Jakarta and the rebranding of the Regent Bali as the Fairmont Sanur Beach Bali. Fox also spoke about the growth in the Americas, including the rebranding of The Grand Del Mar in San Diego to Fairmont Grand Del Mar, and the acquisition of the historic Claremont Hotel Club & Spa in Berkeley, California, set to reopen after a major refurbishment.
A a dinner hosted by Grand Hyatt at the two Michelin-starred La Palme d'Or at the Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez revealed the plans and concept behind seven exciting upcoming Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt and Andaz properties around the world, from Abu Dhabi and St. Kitts to Rio de Janeiro.
Drawing nearly 1,500 luxury travel brands, from hotel groups to spa and safari purveyors along with luxury travel planners, designers and agents, ILTM formally launched with a global forum on Monday, which centred on the theme of storytelling and its importance to luxury travel brands as they seek to enamour high-end consumers.
Millennials win the day
Some of the most intriguing insights into the mind of the luxury traveller came from Clare Bennett, vice president, strategic partnerships, American Express Consumer Travel, who spoke about the trends emerging from a recent American Express Travel survey that revealed travellers in the future will use both high-tech options and high-touch human service to create a unique, highly personalised travel experience.
According to Bennett, 83 percent of surveyed millennials said they value personalisation and are comfortable with travel brands tracking their habits in exchange for a more tailored experience. "People are very comfortable with a brand curating their data," she said. "They want that level of personalisation. They want you to use the data. They want brands to take that information, and use it to make their trip more compelling. More and more consumers will be expecting: "You should know this about me."
As for the future of luxury travel, it seems to be overwhelmingly positive according to a new trends report published yesterday by ILTM in association with Euromonitor. Luxury travel can expect to see more buoyant growth across the globe with highest growth seen in the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. Chinese outbound travellers are predicted to reach over 87 million by 2019, with the most popular destinations all located in Asia Pacific.