Sales for luxury travel agency network Virtuoso up 12% year-on-year

Luxury travel sales remain “robust” despite geopolitical conflicts and economic instability creating “global travel downturns”, according to Virtuoso.

 

The luxury travel agency network - which comprises more than 20,000 travel advisors in 58 countries - said overall sales were up 12% from January to June when compared to the same timeframe in 2024.

 

During a press conference at the 37^th annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas this week, Virtuoso’s vice-president of global public relations Misty Belles (pictured) said: “Travel is a bit of a mixed bag right now. We’re all hearing the news, we’re reading the reports about how travel is down, especially to the US, and it makes sense: travel is susceptible to geopolitical situations, economic instability and consumer confidence.

 

“But at the same time, our advisors are telling us that they are incredibly busy, almost busier than ever, and there appears to be either a disconnect or at least another side of the story.”

 

She added: “I want to acknowledge that there are downturns; I don’t want to diminish the fact that that is happening - depending on geography and the type of travel, there are pockets where travel has indeed softened.

 

“Overall, though, what we have learned is that luxury travel behaves differently. We know that intuitively, but now we have the data to support that as well.”

 

Belles said every category for the network’s supplier partners – Cruise, Hotel, On-Site, Service and Tour – showed growth this year, with global network sales for hotels enjoying a 26% increase in the first half of the year, and cruise and tour bookings projected to see a "steady rise".

 

Future travel bookings in the $50,000 and above category are also up 35% compared to 2024.

 

Belles said off-peak seasons continue to be popular among affluent travellers, with “fall” sales up 39% on last year.

 

The data appeared to challenge the notion that international travellers are avoiding the US, with the destination still ranking highly among Virtuoso’s global luxury clientele, including those from Australia and Canada.

 

Inbound travel sales to the US saw a “modest” uptick of 4% between January and July this year, while for autumn, sales are up 27%.

 

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly influential factor, according to the network, with 77% of Virtuoso advisors surveyed reporting that their clients are more interested in booking sustainable travel than they were five years ago.

 

Across all generations, 64% of high-end travellers said they were interested in making sustainable travel choices during their trips, with 42% willing to pay more for companies that have adopted environmentally friendly philosophies and practices.

 

Virtuoso said the industry could expect to see ‘coolcations’ continue: a total of 79% of surveyed advisors agreed that climate change and extreme weather events and conditions were affecting travel planning, while 55% reported that their clients were choosing to travel at off-peak times due to the climate.

 

Top motivations for travel included spending quality time with the family – specifically multigenerational travel – with 53% of Virtuoso travellers saying they intend to travel with multiple generations within the next year.

 

Virtuoso also analysed its traveller profiles and found for the UK, 30% of consumers expect to travel more in 2025, with a “strong preference for cultural and adventure travel”.

 

The brand reported a 76% increase in the number of consumers seeking to use a travel advisor via the network’s site.