Here’s a round-up of luxury travel stories that have caught the eye this week. To make sure you receive these new weekly alerts in your web browser, please click on the red bell icon in the bottom right hand corner of the page and click ‘subscribe’ (works on desktop only – for other ways to subscribe, please click here). This will also alert you to any other posts on the blog. Should you wish, you can unsubscribe at any time, by clicking on the icon again and selecting ‘unsubscribe’.
Luxury travel market size worth USD 2.5 trillion by 2025
The global luxury travel market size is expected to reach USD 2.5 trillion by 2025, expanding at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 4.6% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing disposable income and consumer spending of the middle and upper class, growing demand for the accumulation of travel memories, increase in micro-trips, and emerging tourism and corporate industries all across the globe are expected to drive the market… [read more]
Want to see the next total solar eclipse? This luxury cruise ship may have the best view
Do you want to make sure you don’t miss out on the next total solar eclipse? All you need to do is book a spot aboard a ship that will be in the Scotia Sea on December 4, 2021. Of course, that may not be the simplest of tasks, but luckily Poseidon Expeditions has already taken care of the hard part for you. The Cyprus-based travel company, which specializes in polar expeditions, just announced a 23-day-long cruise to Antarctica for late 2021 which will give astronomy buffs a chance to view the Sun, Moon and Earth perfectly align in one of the world’s most remote locations alongside eclipse guide, astrophysicist and “Ask a Spaceman!” host Paul Sutter… [read more]
Bordeaux producer to release world’s most expensive wine
When it comes to record-breaking bottle prices, Burgundy usually leads the way, both in France and around the world. But one Bordeaux producer is set to make even Domaine de la Romanée Conti seem like a bargain when it releases its next vintage for a stratospheric $34,110 per bottle. Located in Graves, Liber Pater already boasts the most expensive average bottle prices in Bordeaux, according to Wine Searcher data. However, the $4,120 you can normally expect to pay for one of its bottles is less than an eighth of the price Liber Pater will charge for the 2015 vintage. When it goes on sale, it will become the world’s most expensive release… [read more]
Japan and Singapore top the 2019 Henley Index list of world’s most powerful passports
It’s been a three-horse race this year to be named the world’s most powerful passport, with all top three contenders in Asia. Now, as we enter the second half of 2019, Japan and Singapore have held onto their position as the world’s most travel-friendly passports, with South Korea dropping into second place…. [read more]
Has the ‘Poldark effect’ ruined Cornwall?
It was mid-June and the sun was out – I braced myself for chaotic crowds and selfie-stick wielding tourists doing their best pensive Poldark faces. Charlestown, after all, was one of the most-used locations in the filming of the hit TV show – it’s bound to be overrun with visitors, right? The period drama set in 18th-century Cornwall first graced our screens in March 2015, and thanks to Aidan Turner’s “wonderful chest and thighs” – the chief executive of Visit Cornwall’s words, not mine – it became a sensation. And so did Cornwall along with it… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Have a story you’d like to share? Please contact us for details.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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9 Comments
There are some very shrewd operators in the luxury travel industry nowadays. You have got to admire companies who look ahead and see the opportunities arising on the horizon. Combining the solar eclipse with an Antarctic cruise could be very successful. I think there are going to be a number of people able to tick off two ambitions at the same time. Personally the opportunity to have an astrophysicist on board to explain all the science to me is very appealing.
The way I read the story on growth of the growth of the Luxury Travel Market is 4.6% growth from now through to the end of 2025. If we take that to be from now until the end of 2025 that averages out at just over 0.8% per year. I would anticipate that 0.8% is considerably under the increase in Gross Domestic Product that most countries would hope to achieve annually over those years. As travel is an income elastic product, consumers tend to spend additional income on travel rather than on more mundane products such as loo rolls / shoe polish / salt – the forecast actually seems very conservative. Questioning the data, could it be an annual increase of 4.6% that is actually forecast? And finally, I assume that the statistic is in real terms, with forecast inflation subtracted?
I think this type of forecast has to be taken with a ton of salt. There is no doubt that it is a growing industry and that the underlying trend is steadily upwards. I would be rather reluctant to make any forecast for five years ahead that involves a point (.) in it. So many variables are at play that such specificity is dubious.
Patently, the industry has been successful in segmenting it’s products into categories which are clearly understood by the market and which are benefitting from increasing demand. It must also be said that the industry probably leads the way in aspirational marketing.
Saying that the Poldark effect is detrimental to Cornwall is a little too sensationalist. I think you’ve got to look at the bigger picture. Cornwall is still quite remote and previously wasn’t receiving vast numbers of tourists. In the good old days, when the pound was a lot stronger, holidaymakers were heading overseas rather than to traditional Cornwall haunts. Cornwall is desperately in need of some tourist revenue and more employment creation projections.
I fear that we may see even higher wine prices in the future. Global warming and more extreme weather events are making wine production something of a lottery. Essentially you need normal weather, in France, from March to October. You need normal weather, without any exceptional weather event. No late spring frosts, no extreme heat, no wild storms and then of course, a dry autumn for grapepicking. I think 2015, from my memory was the last good season. To state the obvious, the fewer good grapes around, the more expensive the wine’s going to be.
Oh wow, luxury travel really is on the up! It’s great it’s a burgeoning trend despite the financial ‘crisis’ countries seem to be going through and also the uncertainty in the world, like with Brexit. It’s incredible to think it’s worth 2.5 trillion dollars. It’s a shame if the ‘Poldark effect’ is negatively impacting Cornwall, rather than working as a power for good. I’ll have to find an article on this elsewhere as the link for that one requires a Telegraph account. I love that there’s a cruise getting ready for the solar eclipse of 2021 already too, those will be some very well prepared travellers booking so far in advance! Let’s hope that’s a strong company that doesn’t go bust before then like so many companies are these days.
The Passport Power Index is fascinating. A piece on what factors dictate whether a passport on its own is good enough for easy entry could make for an interesting read. To what extent does money talk? How far is the UAE’s ascent a result of its increasing economic clout? Another good question would focus on the reasons why the USA is slipping down the table. It would be interesting to get some “off the record” quotes from immigration departments around the world.
Now that you can bet on almost anything I can not help but wonder what odds the bookies would give on both the USA and the U.K. dropping out of the Top Ten of the Passport League Table.
Luxury travel market size worth USD 2.5 trillion by 2025
The global luxury travel market size is expected to reach USD 2.5 trillion by 2025, expanding at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 4.6% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing disposable income and consumer spending of the middle and upper class, growing demand for the accumulation of travel memories, increase in micro-trips, and emerging tourism and corporate industries all across the globe are expected to drive the market… [read more]
Luxury travel market size worth USD 2.5 trillion by 2025
The global luxury travel market size is expected to reach USD 2.5 trillion by 2025, expanding at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 4.6% over the forecast period, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing disposable income and consumer spending of the middle and upper class, growing demand for the accumulation of travel memories, increase in micro-trips, and emerging tourism and corporate industries all across the globe are expected to drive the market… [read more]
Want to see the next total solar eclipse? This luxury cruise ship may have the best view
Do you want to make sure you don’t miss out on the next total solar eclipse? All you need to do is book a spot aboard a ship that will be in the Scotia Sea on December 4, 2021. Of course, that may not be the simplest of tasks, but luckily Poseidon Expeditions has already taken care of the hard part for you. The Cyprus-based travel company, which specializes in polar expeditions, just announced a 23-day-long cruise to Antarctica for late 2021 which will give astronomy buffs a chance to view the Sun, Moon and Earth perfectly align in one of the world’s most remote locations alongside eclipse guide, astrophysicist and “Ask a Spaceman!” host Paul Sutter… [read more]
Bordeaux producer to release world’s most expensive wine
When it comes to record-breaking bottle prices, Burgundy usually leads the way, both in France and around the world. But one Bordeaux producer is set to make even Domaine de la Romanée Conti seem like a bargain when it releases its next vintage for a stratospheric $34,110 per bottle. Located in Graves, Liber Pater already boasts the most expensive average bottle prices in Bordeaux, according to Wine Searcher data. However, the $4,120 you can normally expect to pay for one of its bottles is less than an eighth of the price Liber Pater will charge for the 2015 vintage. When it goes on sale, it will become the world’s most expensive release… [read more]
Japan and Singapore top the 2019 Henley Index list of world’s most powerful passports
It’s been a three-horse race this year to be named the world’s most powerful passport, with all top three contenders in Asia. Now, as we enter the second half of 2019, Japan and Singapore have held onto their position as the world’s most travel-friendly passports, with South Korea dropping into second place…. [read more]
Has the ‘Poldark effect’ ruined Cornwall?
It was mid-June and the sun was out – I braced myself for chaotic crowds and selfie-stick wielding tourists doing their best pensive Poldark faces. Charlestown, after all, was one of the most-used locations in the filming of the hit TV show – it’s bound to be overrun with visitors, right? The period drama set in 18th-century Cornwall first graced our screens in March 2015, and thanks to Aidan Turner’s “wonderful chest and thighs” – the chief executive of Visit Cornwall’s words, not mine – it became a sensation. And so did Cornwall along with it… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Have a story you’d like to share? Please contact us for details.
There are some very shrewd operators in the luxury travel industry nowadays. You have got to admire companies who look ahead and see the opportunities arising on the horizon. Combining the solar eclipse with an Antarctic cruise could be very successful. I think there are going to be a number of people able to tick off two ambitions at the same time. Personally the opportunity to have an astrophysicist on board to explain all the science to me is very appealing.
The way I read the story on growth of the growth of the Luxury Travel Market is 4.6% growth from now through to the end of 2025. If we take that to be from now until the end of 2025 that averages out at just over 0.8% per year. I would anticipate that 0.8% is considerably under the increase in Gross Domestic Product that most countries would hope to achieve annually over those years. As travel is an income elastic product, consumers tend to spend additional income on travel rather than on more mundane products such as loo rolls / shoe polish / salt – the forecast actually seems very conservative. Questioning the data, could it be an annual increase of 4.6% that is actually forecast? And finally, I assume that the statistic is in real terms, with forecast inflation subtracted?
I think this type of forecast has to be taken with a ton of salt. There is no doubt that it is a growing industry and that the underlying trend is steadily upwards. I would be rather reluctant to make any forecast for five years ahead that involves a point (.) in it. So many variables are at play that such specificity is dubious.
Patently, the industry has been successful in segmenting it’s products into categories which are clearly understood by the market and which are benefitting from increasing demand. It must also be said that the industry probably leads the way in aspirational marketing.
Saying that the Poldark effect is detrimental to Cornwall is a little too sensationalist. I think you’ve got to look at the bigger picture. Cornwall is still quite remote and previously wasn’t receiving vast numbers of tourists. In the good old days, when the pound was a lot stronger, holidaymakers were heading overseas rather than to traditional Cornwall haunts. Cornwall is desperately in need of some tourist revenue and more employment creation projections.
I fear that we may see even higher wine prices in the future. Global warming and more extreme weather events are making wine production something of a lottery. Essentially you need normal weather, in France, from March to October. You need normal weather, without any exceptional weather event. No late spring frosts, no extreme heat, no wild storms and then of course, a dry autumn for grapepicking. I think 2015, from my memory was the last good season. To state the obvious, the fewer good grapes around, the more expensive the wine’s going to be.
Any hint of oak in a wine spoils it for me. Paying $34,110 per bottle might be paying over the odds to avoid the taste of oak.
Also you would have thought that they would knock it down to $33,999 just to keep it below that psychological $34,000 price point.
Oh wow, luxury travel really is on the up! It’s great it’s a burgeoning trend despite the financial ‘crisis’ countries seem to be going through and also the uncertainty in the world, like with Brexit. It’s incredible to think it’s worth 2.5 trillion dollars. It’s a shame if the ‘Poldark effect’ is negatively impacting Cornwall, rather than working as a power for good. I’ll have to find an article on this elsewhere as the link for that one requires a Telegraph account. I love that there’s a cruise getting ready for the solar eclipse of 2021 already too, those will be some very well prepared travellers booking so far in advance! Let’s hope that’s a strong company that doesn’t go bust before then like so many companies are these days.
The Passport Power Index is fascinating. A piece on what factors dictate whether a passport on its own is good enough for easy entry could make for an interesting read. To what extent does money talk? How far is the UAE’s ascent a result of its increasing economic clout? Another good question would focus on the reasons why the USA is slipping down the table. It would be interesting to get some “off the record” quotes from immigration departments around the world.
Now that you can bet on almost anything I can not help but wonder what odds the bookies would give on both the USA and the U.K. dropping out of the Top Ten of the Passport League Table.