Luxury travel market thrives amid global challenges: Travel Weekly

Jamie Biesiada

Despite turmoil in global financial markets, geopolitical tension and other travel disruptors, the old rule still seems to apply today: Luxury travel sales are fairly insulated from external factors, making that a solid sector for advisors to focus on.

During its 2025 Chairman’s Event celebrating its highest-performing agencies earlier this month, luxury-focused consortium Virtuoso released some new sales statistics at the Grand Velas Los Cabos.

According to David Kolner, executive vice president of strategic communications, Virtuoso’s leisure sales are set to increase 24% in the next two years. Bookings of $50,000 or more apiece are expected to rise 36%.

This year from January through September, year-to-date-sales were up 13%, Kolner reported.

Further evidence in the strength of the luxury sector comes from Virtuoso member Departure Lounge, the Austin, Texas-based host agency that sits at No. 47 on Travel Weekly’s Power List. Keith Waldon, its founder and director, said this month that so far, the agency is up 60% year over year.

Waldon admitted that it’s a “holding-our-breath” situation, “because with the dollar losing some value and all of the tariff stuff, you just wonder, will this demand stay high?”

But so far, so good. Future sales for 2026 are solid, Waldon said, especially with the cruise business. The holiday season and spring break are also looking strong.

Virtuoso Luxe Report

Earlier this month, Virtuoso released its 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report, which revealed even more of what member agencies are seeing right now. 

Nearly half said they expect a slight rise in travel demand in 2026. Another 18%, Virtuoso said, expect a “significant increase.” 

Spending per trip is expected to stay the same or increase a bit, with 55% of Virtuoso members expecting a modest increase and 28% expecting flat per-trip spend.

In the Luxe Report, Virtuoso also highlighted several trends advisors reported among their luxury-focused clients.

For the first time, the report polled advisors about ultraluxe travel, which seems to be on the rise: 45% of advisors reported an increase in recent ultraluxe requests. Celebration travel is driving that demand, the consortium said.

Virtuoso also found that luxury clients (ultra and just plain luxury) want to enjoy destinations without crowds, leading them to farther-flung destinations like Greenland’s fjords, or to popular spots like Italy and France during shoulder season.

Television- and movie-inspired travel remains a trend, with the recent “KPop Demon Hunters” leading to a spike in interest in South Korea. “House of the Dragon” and “Poldark” are drawing visitors to Cornwall in the U.K.

According to Virtuoso, fear of missing out, or FOMO, is also trending, but being followed up with what the consortium has dubbed “slow-mo”: “FOMO gets them on the plane, but ‘slow-mo’ (slow motion) defines the experience,” Virtuoso said. “The rarer the location, the more travelers want to stretch out their stay and savor every moment.”

Finally, luxury clients are increasingly drawn to wellness travel, from yoga-and-surf trips in Costa Rica to Ayurvedic programs in India.