More travel agents are seeing the financial benefits of selling luxury travel and honing in on the sector as their niche, according to new figures.
Luxury travel agency network, Virtuoso, said that on last count it had seen a sharp 47 percent increase in the number of Asia Pacific agents in its books.
The rise occurred over the last year and was considerably ahead of the 26 percent global growth.
Virtuoso’s Asia-Pacific Managing Director, Michael Londregan, said while some areas of travel move online, luxury or more personalised travel will continue to be services by agents, making it a lucrative sub-set of travel.
“This is the fertile ground in which the Virtuoso business operates.”
Michael Londregan, Virtuoso Asia-Pacific Managing Director
“There will always be value in professional service from an experienced advisor who has personal connections, localised knowledge and access to premium experiences.”
He continued, explaining that recent research into the American traveller found that over the last year the number of people using an online travel agent dropped from 36 percent to 13 percent. He attributed the drop to the agent’s ability to free up the consumer’s time and offer multi-year travel plans.
“This is particularly relevant in luxury travel clients who are looking for wow experiences that reflect their priorities and lifestyles and provide the maximum return on their most precious commodity – their time.”
Michael Londregan, Virtuoso Asia-Pacific Managing Director
“Much of the marketplace is looking at customer service as a cost to the business model but Virtuoso and our members understand that customer service is our business model.”
