GTC President Angie Licea Shared the State of the Luxury Travel Industry

New York, NY (Nov. 10, 2020) — In her General Session remarks at the “Elevate the Journey” conference (held virtually this year from November 9-12), Global Travel Collection President Angie Licea told attendees her impressions of 2020 and what lies ahead, as well as sharing results of a survey of luxury travel consumers. The four-day international virtual conference includes plenary sessions, workshops and one-on-one appointments.

“As we come to the end of 2020, we can all reflect on what a strange year it has been,” Licea commented. “In the middle of a global pandemic, travel advisors have proven why they need to be a part of every traveler’s arsenal of professionals. Travel advisors have worked tirelessly to get clients back home after the COVID-19 outbreak, make sure that their treasured vacations are rescheduled and refunded, and been founts of reliable information on where, when and how we can travel. Although this has been a challenging and sometimes trying year, the future of luxury travel looks bright.”

In October GTC commissioned a survey of over 1,000 affluent travelers. Key findings from the survey were (participants were allowed to choose more than one answer):

Travel Plans

– 64% are dreaming of when they can travel

– 18% have already booked a future trip

– 16% are starting to plan their next vacation

– 16% are not planning travel anytime soon

Comfort Level with Traveling

– 43% are waiting for a vaccine before planning travel

– 41% are comfortable planning 2021 and 2022 travel now

– 20% are concerned about the risks of future travel

– 10% are comfortable to travel in 2020

Travel Spending

– 56% expect to spend the same amount of money as last year on future trips

– 33% plan to spend less

– 12% plan to spend more

International Destinations Luxury Travelers Are Interested In

– Europe-63%

– Australia/New Zealand-21%

– Caribbean-21%

– Africa-18%

– Asia-15%

– Central and South America-14%

– Canada-13%

– Mexico-13%

– Antarctica-4%

– Other-11%

Luxury Cruising Interest

– Small luxury ship ocean cruising-29%

– River cruising-27%

– Large ship ocean cruising-13%

– Expedition cruising-8%

“What these results show it that luxury travelers are concerned with health and safety, as opposed to economics,” Licea said. “But the desire to travel is still there, and with the help of a travel advisor, I am confident many luxury travelers can turn their vacation dreams into reality. Travel will be back, and when it is, luxury travelers will seek to consult with travel professional experts.”

Licea continued, “If this year has taught us anything, it is that travel is a vital part of our economy and of people’s lives. From the reporters covering this conference to the bell captain, food server, car service driver, sales rep, travel advisor, pilot, flight attendant, cruise purser, housekeeping, industry executive and so on, we are travel. Let’s spread the word far and wide that #weRtravel. We are colleagues, we are competitors, we are friends, regardless, #weRtravel. Let us stand together, let us demand attention for our beloved industry, let us not be taken for granted, let us start a movement. Let’s remember 2020 not as the year of the pandemic that decimated our industry, but instead as the start of a time that showed everyone that a travel is a vital engine of our economy and of our happiness.”

Keynote speaker and happiness expert Tia Graham, founder of Arrive at Happy, gave an inspirational talk titled, “Supercharge Your Resilience and Success.” Graham congratulated conference attendees on their resilience and encouraged them to work on several areas of their lives, using the acronym SPIRE, Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational and Emotional.

Attending the event are top luxury travel advisors from Internova Travel Group’s brands including Protravel International, Tzell Travel Group, All Star Travel Group, ALTOUR, In The Know Travel Experiences (ITKE), and Colletts Travel. Together, they represent the largest selling force for premium corporate, luxury leisure and entertainment travel in North America.

Advisors interested in learning more about affiliation with GTC can contact: Joinus@GlobalTravelCollection.com.

About Global Travel Collection

Global Travel Collection (GTC) is the world’s largest collection of international luxury travel agencies, including the well-established networks of Protravel International, Tzell Travel Group, and Colletts Travel, as well as Andrew Harper, In the Know Experiences, All Star Travel Group and R. Crusoe & Son. GTC advisors and agencies are industry leaders in providing premium travel services to leisure travelers, corporate executives and the entertainment industry. The combined global reach and leverage translates into value, recognition, and preferential treatment for its world travelers.