Virtuoso has wrapped its 33rd annual Virtuoso Travel Week conference before an audience of more than 3,300 of luxury travel’s top professionals from 102 countries, marking the first luxury travel event this year with in-person attendance in Las Vegas as well as virtual.
Running August 8-13, the hybrid function saw nearly 1,500 in-person attendees at Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, and Vdara Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas joined by over 1,800 remote participants for nearly 82,000 of the famed, one-to-one networking appointments plus a full roster of professional development sessions by renowned presenters.
Virtuoso Travel Week 2021 served to reunite friends, colleagues and business partners who the group say “need each other now more than ever to get travel and tourism back on their feet.”
As such, whether attendees were in Las Vegas or participating from the comfort of their own home the world over, Virtuoso presented a well-curated experience that set the stage for global travel’s reconnection and recovery.
Virtuoso Week’s Opening Ceremony, themed “Imagine What Can Be,” was a strong visual and emotional presentation designed to engage and inspire all attendees and featuring original poetry performed by Adán Bean.
This year’s keynote speaker, Adam Grant, renowned psychologist, author and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, brought forward his insights on the power of rethinking, calling it, “A crucial skill not only for facing crises… but for navigating complex social issues, making good business decisions, and more.”
At a time when all conventional wisdom and ways of doing business have been challenged, Grant’s message and insights held particular resonance with the audience.
Following on was a presentation by Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch. Acknowledging that the pandemic has been especially devastating for those in the travel industry, he offered a message of hope and opportunity, asking, “Where do we go from here?”
Upchurch said that Virtuoso members held the potential to serve more travellers through their organisations, agencies, and the entire global travel industry, amplify the positive impact that travel can make worldwide, empower and uplift individuals and communities, and bring people together.
He also acknowledged that while meaningful travel creates a positive impact and higher Return on Life, we must also consider the economics and correlating Return-on-Investment. Fortunately, that potential is real.
“Disruptions accelerate trends, whether to the upside or downside,” said Upchurch. “Despite this global pause in travel, two of the most powerful upside trends are completely in our favour. First is the value of travel itself because nothing motivates humans, like taking something away that they took for granted. And the second is the value of travel advisors. The heroic efforts of advisors during the pandemic only widened the gap with DIY.”
Upchurch also shared with the audience key innovations that his organisation had been working on throughout the year for the mutual benefit and success of the entire Virtuoso network.
The hope now for Virtuoso is that they can get even more members over to Las Vegas for next year’s 2022 Travel Week.
Virtuoso.com launches a new digital traveller experience
Continuing to grow consumer preference for Virtuoso members, advisors and partners, and innovating the way in which travellers collaborate with the network through digital has been a focus.
Just this week, Virtuoso launched the integration of its website, Virtuoso.com, and its travel dreaming site Virtuoso Wanderlist®, combining travel inspiration with traveller engagement in the dreaming and planning process.
Virtuoso says Wanderlist® has exceeded AU$150 million in future travel demand, with an impressive 59 per cent of list invitations sent by travellers accepted by their friends and family, making it a powerful referral tool for Virtuoso travel advisors.
For more information about Virtuoso, visit www.virtuoso.com
