Flight Centre Travel Group’s Premium Leisure and Independent brands, which include Travel Associates, continue to scope out opportunities for growth in market share, with the US and UK viewed as key new regions to tap into, and at pace.

Virtuoso may have as many as a dozen General Managers spread around the world as the luxury travel network continues its momentum to grow, Senior Vice President of Global Operations, Michael Londregan has revealed to LATTE.

Luxury travellers remain unperturbed by pandemic-induced inflated prices for holidays, a panel of travel experts has unanimously agreed during a discussion at Virtuoso Travel Week.

Last week, five Virtuoso travel advisors arrived in Los Cabos to experience the Mexican paradise, where the desert meets the sea. The group took part in a famil following Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, where Los Cabos Tourism was recognised on the global stage, bestowed with the honour of 2022 Best Tourism Board Award.

Matthew Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso, is forecasting the strong trading conditions for luxury travel around the world to be sustained for another 12-24 months, pending any “black swan” events.

African ecotourism and conservation brand, Singita, is honing in on a number of new locations in Southern Africa to expand its ultra-luxury footprint and plug gaps for the brand’s ‘super safari’ offering.

Virgin Hotels has ambitions to expand its collection of boutique luxury properties to Australia in the next 5-10 years, but will assess the right opportunities, particularly in Sydney, earlier should it present itself, says CEO James Bermingham.

Southern Crossings, specialists in bespoke luxury travel in Australia and New Zealand, became the first antipodean to claim the title of ‘Best On-Site’ at the annual Virtuoso Travel awards ceremony in Las Vegas last week.

Frontier Travel’s General Manager, Ann-Catherine (AC) Jones was among the luxury travel industry’s global elite at Virtuoso Travel Week on Wednesday.

With the 2023 AU/NZ Forum heading offshore for the first time since 2019, LATTE can reveal the program in Fiji will undergo some refinements and provide more time for connections – one of the key pillars of the global luxury travel network.

Last week, Australia’s own Anthony Goldman was confirmed as the newly elected Chair of the Virtuoso Global Member Advisory Board at ahead of Virtuoso Travel Week 2022. His appointment reflects Virtuoso’s movement towards a ‘think local, act global’ strategy being driven by Virtuoso’s Senior Vice President of Global Operations, Michael Londregan. Goldman is the first non-US member to take the chair with the global luxury travel consortium.

Virtuoso concluded its 34th annual Virtuoso Travel Week with an elegant evening of recognition, honouring individuals and entities that have gone above and beyond in the travel industry over the past year.