Virtuoso has appointed Angeles Yugdar as general manager, Latin America and the Caribbean. An industry leader with more than 25 years of experience in the global luxury travel space, Yugdar steps into the role following Bea Sajon’s transition to general manager for Continental Europe.

The 37th annual Virtuoso Travel Week will kick off this weekend in Las Vegas, taking place 9-15 August 2025 across Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Vdara Hotel & Spa.

Luxury Escapes’ entry in the UK market has exceeded expectations for the Australian founded travel company. “The UK entry has been more exciting than the US,” a candid Adam Schwab, Co-Founder and CEO of Luxury Escapes, told LATTE. “The UK has been really amazing.”

Luxury travel agency/owners around the globe, including Australia, have seen a shift in their authority as their businesses expand to incorporate independent contractors (ICs). According to Michael Londregan, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Virtuoso, agencies have reported a switch from a “sphere of control, to a sphere of influence” as the IC model evolves.

Virtuoso will host its fourth annual Travel Tech Summit during Virtuoso Travel Week this year. The Summit will take place Saturday, 9 August, at Bellagio Resort & Casino.Due to high demand, Virtuoso has almost doubled the capacity of this year’s Tech Summit and is expecting 500 attendees. The summit is led by tech entrepreneur, investor and Virtuoso board member Gilad Berenstein, who will open the discussion by showcasing key themes in travel technology he has been following over the past year, as well as the development of Virtuoso’s tech ecosystem.

Goldman Travel Group this afternoon confirmed it will acquire an initial 50% stake in fellow Virtuoso agency Main Beach Travel on Queensland’s Gold Coast and will assume full ownership of the business after three years.

Ultra-luxury residential cruise newcomer Crescent Seas has named Virtuoso’s Thatcher Brown as its first ever CEO, effective 1 August 2025.

Just a few weeks prior to its annual Travel Week, luxury travel network Virtuoso announced a promotion and several new additions to its global team. Most notably, Helen McCabe-Young has been named Senior Vice President, Global Products, while Thatcher Brown—who previously held the title—has departed Virtuoso to assume the role of CEO at Crescent Seas, a new luxury residence at sea concept.

A record number of Virtuoso travel agencies and advisors in Australia and New Zealand have been named as finalists in the 2025 Virtuoso Gala Awards, that will be officially announced in a few weeks time in Las Vegas at Virtuoso Travel Week.

Virtuoso has named Karen Hardie as its new General Manager Canada, following the recent promotion of Una O’Leary to the role of Vice President Global Partnerships.

Virtuoso hosted its first-ever Impact Summit at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise last week, with 105 attendees from nearly 20 countries attending. A by-invitation-only event, the Impact Summit brought together a curated group of Virtuoso’s most engaged sustainability-focused advisors and partners. The Summit provided a platform to discuss solutions for furthering progress around what Virtuoso has identified as the three pillars of sustainability: supporting local economies, celebrating culture and protecting the planet.

Beth Butzlaff will return to Virtuoso as the luxury travel network’s first-ever General Manager for the US, it has been confirmed.