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Exclusive preview: Anna Burgdorf shares what to expect at Luxury Travel Collection's upcoming Sydney event

As Luxury Travel Collection (LTC) prepares to host its upcoming Luxury Travel Event in Sydney on Sunday 23 February, Karryon Luxury spoke to Anna Burgdorf, General Manager – Brand for LTC about what partners and visitors can expect – and future plans to scale up.

As Luxury Travel Collection (LTC) prepares to host its upcoming Luxury Travel Event in Sydney on Sunday 23 February, Karryon Luxury spoke to Anna Burgdorf, General Manager – Brand for LTC about what partners and visitors can expect – and future plans to scale up.

The Luxury Travel Event, to be held at ICC Sydney, is hosted by LTC for its members and will be built as a one-stop ‘Luxury Travel Department store’ for the discerning guests on the day. 

“It’s our luxury product house that we offer to our members. We call it a luxury travel department store because it’s essentially curated. If you can imagine walking into the most beautiful department store in the world, which for us is Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche in Paris, that’s what our Galleries de Luxe range of products is modelled on,” says Anna Burgdorf.

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Alexa Papoulias, A&K, speaks to guests at a previous Luxury Travel Collection event

“It’s experiential… there’s an incredibly knowledgeable and experienced person behind the counter – aka a luxury travel advisor – ready to help you make your purchase; you pop everything in your bag and you walk out the door and you’ve essentially had a one stop luxury shopping experience. That’s how we look at our product house. 

“It’s a beautiful environment where every one of our suppliers has been curated into a space and they have special offers for clients, brochures they can walk away with, or sit with the supplier or a travel advisor and to plan your itinerary,” says Burgdorf. 

Guests on the day are able to book trips immediately via the booking lounge which Burgdorf says is a central part of the event. More than 30 experienced advisors from Luxury Travel Collection will be on hand to provide advice, insight and expert recommendations as part of the experience.

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Amber Wilson, Hurtigruten Group, at a previous Luxury Travel Collection event

Around 53 travel partners will be in attendance at the event, including Abercrombie & Kent, Adventure World, Ama Waterways, Albatross, APT, Aurora Expeditions, Avalon Waterways, Globus Family of Brands, Azamara, Collette, Crystal Cruises, HX, Europ Assistance, Explora Journeys, Intrepid, Luxury Gold, Ponant, Qatar Airways, Quark Expeditions, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Scenic, Silversea, Tauck, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Viking Cruises and more. 

“We make sure that we’ve chosen the best of the best ocean cruise lines with the kind of itineraries that we know luxury travellers will want. Of course we’ve got a range of river cruise lines; and then the thing on everybody’s lips is also expedition,” she says.

In addition to cruise operators, the event will include touring brands “a really key product for us,” according to Burgdorf; as well as hotels,  DMCs and some airline partners. 

Who is attending?

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Guests speaking with Scott Graham, Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Approximately 800 clients are expected through the doors with around 60 per cent of tickets already sold for the Luxury Travel Collection event. 

A second Luxury Travel Event will take place on the Gold Coast on 30 March at The Star Event Centre, Gold Coast.

“It’s been two years since the event was hosted in Sydney. Our first event was in April 2023 in Sydney and the second event ran on the Gold Coast in February 2024.  

“We do have our luxury travellers from the Sydney event and the Gold Coast event which are being invited; and we certainly have some repeat visitors and existing customers. In particular, it’s customers that have been invited by their advisor. 

“But the majority of people we’re targeting is actually new luxury consumers because everybody wants to grow – and where we see that as a membership organisation we can add value is in growing our customer base and providing those qualified leads to our suppliers and our members so that the conversations they’re having are worthwhile. That’s also a reason we put a $30 ticket price on the event because it’s what we would think of as a minimum barrier to entry,” she says.

Activities at the event

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Champagne Dame, Kyra Kirkpatrick will present a Champagne masterclass at the event

Luxury Travel Collection says that guests will be met at the door with a glass of Champagne and guided to meet directly with partners depending on their travel desires or invited to peruse the entire selection of luxury travel brands at the event. 

“Guests this year will also be able to benefit from a new, immersive masterclass program hosted by some of our favourite brands and famous friends,” says Burgdorf. 

Three masterclasses will virtually ‘travel the globe’ including ‘Sparklings of the World’ with the Champagne Dame, Kyra Kirkpatrick (sponsored by Regent Seven Seas Cruises); and ‘Fragrances of the World’ with perfumier Maison 21G (sponsored by insurance group Europ Assistance). A culinary masterclass exploring iconic dishes from Asia, South America, and Europe will be hosted by celebrity chef Tom Kime. 

Three 60-seat cinemas will provide additional insights into the product offers of luxury partners where guests can take advantage of the exclusive offers available on the day. 

“Guests need to pay a nominal, minimal charge for the masterclasses although they don’t need to pay for the cinema experiences – but the cinema experiences always book out! Last year we had two cinemas but this year we have three because they are always really, really popular,” says Burgdorf. 

“We do have a lot of people that spend the entire day at the event. There’s catering, live music and champagne, and they walk out with a beautiful goodie bag. It’s a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to get into luxury travel and looking to find what’s new, what’s different.

“It’s also very relaxed. For some people, particularly the newer, younger customer they may not feel confident to walk through the door of a beautiful travel boutique like a Travel Associates business and may not know who is a specialist in luxury in their suburb. Coming to this event, it’s already done for them and then we can match them with a luxury travel advisor that will help them select and make their decision, and can essentially host them on the day if that’s what they choose,” she says.

Scaling up

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Perfumier Maison 21G will present a perfurme masterclass at the Luxury Travel Event

Burgdorf said that it’s not just sales conversion from the event but the value of leads and loyalty that the Luxury Travel Event affords Luxury Travel Collection. 

​​“I can confidently tell you that last year, we couldn’t actually keep up with the number of people that wanted to book on the day,” said Burgdorf. 

“We realised our booking lounge was too small. So this year we’ve doubled the size of it. But the thing that’s really interesting with these kinds of events is that we tend to have a higher share of wallet. It’s a higher average booking value from an event. 

“We don’t push the fact that you come and book. What we talk about is coming to shop and coming to receive that expert advice and having a look at what is available. But like anything, when you are there on the day and you are so excited and you’ve met incredible people who have absolutely won your heart with a gorgeous holiday – most people want to book,” she says. 

Burgdorf says they had incredible success from the 2024 Gold Coast event which is why they will return there this year in March. 

“We will also expand this concept – probably with a smaller footprint – into other markets where we’re strong. Adelaide is a fantastic market where we’ve got some exceptional Travel Associates businesses and independently owned businesses. Perth is another market; and of course, Melbourne. Essentially this then becomes about how quickly can we scale up and bring these events nationally,” says Burgdorf.

For more information visit theluxurytravelevent.com.au