Global luxury travel network Virtuoso will break new ground in 2020 when it converts the planned physical version of its annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas into an online virtual alternative. Branded as “Virtuoso Travel Week – The Virtual Experience”, the streamed format will be broadcast the week commencing 10 August.

Connections Group, comprising brands including CT Connections, Executive Edge Travel and Totem Group, has formed a partnership with Express Travel Group’s new Alatus Corporate offshoot.

The global cruise industry has weathered a battering over the past few months in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost all cruise companies, whether it be ocean, river or expedition, have halted operation until late June 2020 due to mandates abroad and national domestic and international travel bans. But despite the current COVID-19 turmoil, the cruise market is likely to be the sector of the travel and tourism industry that will recover the fastest, predicts Michael Londregan, Managing Director of Virtuoso Asia Pacific.

The regional head of the Virtuoso luxury travel network says the ongoing coronavirus pandemic travel lull offers partners and agency members a chance to rejuvenate and potentially remake their business model.

LATTE can exclusively reveal that Virtuoso has abandoned proceedings for an Asia Pacific version of the luxury network’s Travel Week held annually in the USA in Las Vegas. Plans for the showcase were well advanced, but have been put on ice for 2020 due to the COVID-19 travel crisis.

Virtuoso members in Australia and New Zealand have been thrown a lifeline during the coronavirus pandemic, with the luxury travel network waiving its membership charge and accelerating the delivery of override commissions to assist with cashflow.

Virtuoso CEO Matthew D Upchurch has spoken of the responsibilities travel advisors should provide clients during a time of turmoil. Addressing the current global travel slump induced by the coronavirus pandemic, the luxury travel expert says its crucial clients are aware that travel has not stopped, but only paused for an indefinite period. Upchurch says offering a “calming voice of reason” and being a trusted partner during difficult times leads to loyalty, a proposition that eludes online channels.

COVID-19 has had a seismic impact on people’s travel aspirations – the holidays they have dreamed about, planned and booked. While those well-deserved breaks may seem to be swimming in uncertainty, Virtuoso says you should get some expert advice from the best travel advisors in the industry before you ditch your precious plans.

The Virtuoso luxury travel network has suspended this year’s Virtuoso Symposium, which was scheduled to be held in Vienna, Austria later this month. The cancellation of the 2020 get-together of Virtuoso’s owner/managers and partners comes after ITB Berlin, due to begin on Wednesday 4 March, was also postponed. 

Today’s sophisticated youth are blazing new trails as global citizens, impacting everything from their family and friends’ travel choices to new products, destinations and motivations for travel.

Cruisers are seeking far-flung, pristine destinations in 2020, driven by a desire for immersion in each location, according to global luxury travel network Virtuoso. The network recently unveiled its cruise trends for the year in time for ‘wave season,’ occurring January through March, when savvy travellers book voyages to benefit from special incentives.

SO/ Auckland has been accepted into Virtuoso’s exclusive portfolio of luxury travel partners, comprised of more than 1,800 preferred suppliers in 100 countries.