The 2023 Luxperience luxury travel trade event is underway in Sydney, running for the first time this year as part of the luxury offering of FCTG.
The 2023 Luxperience event at Sydney’s ICC has brought together 75 suppliers with more than 120 travel advisors and professionals.
Flight Centre Travel Group acquired Luxperience in April as part of the company’s growing Luxury Travel Collection, which includes Travel Associates and the recently acquired UK-based Scott Dunn.
In a statement, Luxperience stated that 75 per cent of buyers this year are booking in excess of $20,000 per trip. Around 18 per cent secure $40-$50,000 in average client spend; and almost 10 per cent are booking travel in excess of $50,000 (all amounts quoted exclude air).
Day one of Luxperience commenced with an official Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony.
Event Director Lynn Ormiston then addressed the media at a breakfast briefing where Karryon was in attendance.
“In terms of the buyers, our core focus this year was to bring quality travel advisors through the event. In terms of level of qualification, we’ve actually increased it so we can see that the level of experience of travel advisors is almost 40 per cent who have more than 20 years in the industry,” said Ormiston.
Ormiston also stated that the average number of diary appointments for advisors was 60 across the three day event.
The 2024 event dates were announced as 11-14 November. Ormiston also hinted at plans for the 2024 program which will see the addition of a conference on Monday 11 November with six sessions, and a panel discussion with suppliers, media and buyers’ views on six hot topics.
“That is the direction for Luxperience and we’re looking forward to the next five years,” said Ormiston.
More about the luxury leisure division of FCTG and Luxperience
Anna Burgdorf, Brand and Marketing Director for the Luxury Travel Collection, also spoke at the briefing.
“I think what is special about this event is that it is elite and not elitist. I think that’s a critical thing for this industry and this business, but also for this incredible showcase,” said Burgdorf.
“It is the only luxury event of its kind in Australia. And I think that was definitely one of the things that attracted us to the event. It made us think if we’re building the luxury portfolio within our business, which is what we have spent the last few years doing, the addition of an incredible showcase like Luxperience was something that was extremely attractive to us – and it just happened to be the right time,” said Burgdorf.
The event, which normally takes 12 months to organise, was planned in just four – which Burgdorf credited to a “small but impressive team.”
Burgdorf explained that the Luxury Travel Collection is part of the luxury leisure division of the Flight Centre Travel group.
“Over the course of the last few years, our business has been diversifying its portfolio. Within our leisure travel division, we have four portfolios, one being mass travel – so obviously an incredibly strong Flight Centre brand in that space,” she said.
Regarding the group’s luxury travel portfolio, Burgdorf went on to outline that division in more detail.
“Probably the best way to describe that is a collection of brands that operate in the luxury space. So we’re no longer one brand. Previously we would have been known as Travel Associates, and Rachel Kingswell is the Head of the Travel Associates business in Australia and New Zealand. So we do have that brand. I’m sure you all know that we also acquired Scott Dunn which covers the UK, US and the Singapore markets; and then Luxperience being that the third business that we acquired. Also as part of the growth of this collection of luxury businesses will be the member portfolio that Nikki Glading heads up together with Rachel Kingswell,” said Burgdorf.
Speaking further on the event, Burgdorf said that while perceptions of luxury may vary, what they try to keep in mind at Luxperience is the client.
“It’s about the client’s perception of luxury and what the client wants to experience as part of their travel. So Lynn delivers on curating the right groups of people that are able to bring luxury, in all its forms, to life for clients. In curating the partners who are here and curating the travel professionals who are here, that’s where the magic happens ….it’s very much about finding interesting new suppliers and businesses, and the right people who are going to make the magic happen for their clients’ travel experience.”
The 2023 Luxperience event will conclude on 16 November.
For more information visit luxperience.com.au
