Virtuoso: Luxury travel sales will continue to grow

Virtuoso, the leading global network for luxury and experiential travel, presented new trends in luxury tourism at the 2025 Continental Europe Forum, held at the Mandarin Oriental Palace Hotel in Lucerne from March 19 to 21. The Forum’s key finding: luxury travel sales will continue to grow,

The event was attended by over 90 tourism professionals, including Virtuoso travel agency owners and managers from across Europe, as well as partners from around the world.

Knowledge exchange and networking

Participants had the opportunity to attend presentations and specialized training sessions, where they exchanged ideas and best practices. Topics included, among others, adapting travel advisor skills for the luxury market and the latest developments in artificial intelligence.

Matthew D. Upchurch, President and CEO of Virtuoso, emphasized the importance of a human-centric approach to luxury travel:

"Since 2010, our core mission has been to enrich lives through human connection. This is not just a slogan, but our most powerful business model."

He also spoke about the importance of travel advisors as influencers, noting that their influence is not "figurative," but real and substantial, as it is based on relationships and trust with their customers.

Impressive increase in Virtuoso sales

Michael Londregan, Vice President of Virtuoso, presented the latest trends and financial data for the network. 2024 was a record year, with total sales exceeding 2019 levels by 239%, while the leisure travel industry as a whole saw an average increase of 125%.

2024 highlights:

Hotel sales increased by 30% year-over-year.
Cruise sales increased by 30%, with yacht sales recording the largest increase (+75%).
Luxury travel bookings over $50,000 increased by 51%.
Londregan predicted that luxury travel sales would continue to grow, citing the UBS Global Wealth Report 2024, which estimates a 15% increase in the number of millionaires by 2028.

Summer 2025 trends: Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey

Londregan also outlined the trends shaping up for summer 2025. Travelers are favoring milder climate destinations such as Iceland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

Slovenia saw an impressive 473% increase in bookings for June, July, and August, which he attributes to the successful Virtuoso Chairman’s Event held in the country last year. Other emerging destinations:

Croatia (+356%)
Turkey (+272%)
Malta (+108%)
Montenegro (+24%)

Innovative tools for Virtuoso members

Jennifer Campbell, VP of Events, presented the latest technological developments at Virtuoso:

The Social Media Content Centre is a new platform for managing advisors’ social media, with tools for Instagram and TikTok and AI translation capabilities in eight languages.
Virtuoso Spotlights, which showcase luxury partner villas and suites, increase traffic to Virtuoso.com.
Digital Destination Experiences, dedicated to destinations such as Madrid, Australia, Canada, Greece, Croatia and Los Campos, aimed at providing enriched content to travelers
Upgraded services at partner hotels

Virtuoso also upgraded its privileges program for its partner hotels.

30% of partner hotels now offer guaranteed upgrades, double or triple room credits, and early check-in or late check-out.

These partners have seen a 50% increase in revenue and higher average daily revenue (ADR).

Conclusion

Virtuoso’s 2025 Continental Europe Forum highlighted new trends in luxury travel, confirming the strong growth of the industry and the decisive role of travel consultants. With new digital tools, innovative strategies, and targeted partnerships, Virtuoso continues to lead the luxury and experiential travel market.

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