Virtuoso‘s Chairman and CEO Matthew Upchurch brought a new phrase to the table at ILTM Cannes last week, referencing the rise of the “fusion traveller”.

Briefing media at ILTM’s annual flagship conference on the French Riviera, Upchurch described the term as the “number one tension of a luxury traveller” being the inclination to return to a favourite destination but with the added desire to do something “completely new. And that is creating something we call the fusion traveller.”

Upchurch offered a example of a traveller who combines their obsession of visiting Venice, returning to the Italian floating city to see something new, which could be taking a two-hour train ride to Ljubljana in Slovenia.

“Just like we have fusion food, one of the big trends we’re seeing is fusion travel.”

“When you’re mixing destinations that you really know and or admire but still want to explore, or see it differently.”

Upchurch also provided an overview of other travel trends, highlighting in particular that Virtuoso members’ ultra-high-net-worth sales are “going through the roof!” He said luxury travellers can’t get enough private access and privacy, along with “hyper-personalisation”.

Meanwhile, Upchurch offered himself a hypophora on what single word he would use as an alternative to “luxury”, saying the word would be “diverse”.

“In all the years, to me that is what is most amazing. The diversity of today’s luxury traveller. Whether you’re the top of the 1% or the 0.1%, or whether you’re aspirational, the diversity by age group, by passion point, by cultural… I’ve never seen it before,” he said.

“People see travel not even as luxury but an element of their life. To make it meaningful, to help their families and their children be global citizens, competitive”.

“I do think that one of the reasons that the travel advisor profession is doing so well is that the travel advisor themselves mirror the diversity of the customers,” Upchurch said, digging deeper. “When I talk to a lot of our partners around the world, the ability to translate the nuances and emotions through the language you use and the mediums you use, are very specific to some of these very different cultures or generations, and that’s a reason when there’s a really strong relationship between an advisor and their client. When the relationship between those advisors and the partners are really strong, it creates an ability to express a nuance that’s worth paying for.”

Lead image: Matthew Upchurch, Virtuoso Chairman and CEO at ILTM Cannes.