Used to planning incentive trips for Baby Boomers? Watch out, because here come the Millennials—and they’re already quite experienced at luxury travel.
In fact, during the recent Affluent Traveler Collection (ATC) Symposium, held in glitzy Miami at the Kimpton EPIC Hotel, we learned that while consumer spending in the $1.2 trillion luxury segment is up 25 percent overall, it’s up 40 percent among Millennials.
ATC is an invitation-only luxury marketing group that’s solely focused on luxury travel. “Premium and luxury is growing,” Nicola Mazza, ATC’s CMO, said during the Symposium’s press conference. “The largest growth we are seeing within the luxury market is with Millennials.”
She added that research shows that Millennials are looking for experiences rather than material items, more so than other generations. “Millennials,” pointed out Mazza, “want to go to Coachella not, buy a Coach bag.”
To cater to the authentic experiences affluent travelers are craving, ATC’s OnLocation program relaunched earlier this year. The program, which tripled in size to 33 partners, offers hyper-personalized experiences in 65 destinations throughout the world.
ATC also found that luxury travelers expect such added-value services as complimentary breakfast, comped WiFi, early check-in, late check-out, upgrades and hotel credit. Today’s luxury travelers are also focused on to-do lists. “People want to go to those Instagram-worthy destinations,” said Mazza.
Among other top trends are wellbeing, culinary and expedition travel. For the latter, Mazza noted that Antarctica and the Arctic are no longer “that aspirational one-time trip.” Off the beaten path is top of mind for younger luxury travelers.
Another area where the younger generation differs from the Boomers is around technology. As Mazza noted during the conference, ATC is upping its game when it comes to tech. “We know the next generation needs to be serviced and we want to have the right tools to be able to manage this growth in the market,” she said.
Don’t miss Prevue’s Incentive Evolution Summit April 3 to 5, 2024, where luxury trends will be discussed by Meg Pisani, Vice President, Supplier Relations, Maritz.
This story first appeared on Prevue’s sister site, Recommend.com.
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