The International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Global Forum last week in Cannes featured multiple speakers trying to set the scene for the future of luxury travel.
Here are some of the highlights from the opening presentations:
Global Economist Nenad Pacek revealed that 13 million people in the world today have over US$1 million to invest and more and more of this money is being spent on luxury travel. In the face of increasing competition, big players from the world of luxury travel are becoming more aggressive in their tactics to reach target audiences and increasingly, independent local products are playing a much more important role.
Consumer expert Lauren Capelin explored “The Collaborative Economy,” the new consumer shift now reinventing traditional market behaviors such as renting, borrowing, trading, exchanging and swapping – and what this means to the luxury travel industry. Capelin highlighted that “idealizing access over ownership activates the untapped value of luxury” and enables access to experiences that may have previously been out of reach to many. Luxury travellers are now faced with many different ways of obtaining goods and services that may circumvent existing luxury industry providers.
In addition, the increased access to luxury goods and services for a wider demographic of people is set to raise the bar still higher as to what constitutes a luxury travel experience for the existing market.
“One in five of luxury travel businesses will be affected by the collaborative economy – it is an opportunity to grow rather than an issue that’s removing opportunity for luxury travel,” Capelin added.
South African political commentator and newspaper columnist Justice Malala explored “The Democracy Dividend in Africa and Its Impact on Wealth Creation.” In a world where more than 100,000 Africans have more than US$1 million to invest, Malala observed, “Ebola has disrupted the positive narrative of this emerging continent.”
When considering the opportunities for today’s Africa for the luxury travel industry, Malala added, “Given that Africa now has the fastest growing middle class in the world, the key issue is how to support this growth.”
Futurist consultant Edie Weiner concluded with “A View From The Future,” which identified where luxury is going next and what the industry should be aware of in terms of technology, global economies, the political scene, demography and society. “The second largest currency behind the US dollar is reward points, closely followed by the Tweet,” she remarked.
The Global Forum was preceded by two topical seminars that focused on two key growth areas with the potential of increasing revenue within luxury travel – health and wellness and gastronomy.
“Health is the New Wealth” moderated by UK spa journalist Suzanne Duckett featured Frances Geoghegan of Healing Holidays, Elena Black of Six Senses Spas, Anne Biging of Healing Hotels, and John Bevan of Spafinder Wellness 365. They call spa and wellbeing as one of the fastest growing businesses worldwide, predicting that 90% of all luxury tourism will include an aspect of health and wellbeing by the year 2040.
“Modern Gastronomy and the Search for Identity” featured Jeremy Wayne, restaurant editor of Tatler UK, David Loewi of D&D London, which owns and operates over 30 leading restaurants, restauranter Michael Greenwold and Michelin-starred chefs Norbert Niederkofler and Gilles Epie. The panel concluded it has never been more important to understand food culture and its contribution to the story of a journey or place.