1. Exclusive access trumps traditional sightseeing

For affluent travellers, ticking off the major sights is no longer enough. They want to get behind closed doors, meet the people behind the experience and get involved themselves, said Black Book panellists.

"It's not about us taking them to the flashiest experience or the best museum," explained Nicola Butler, Owner and Managing Director of NoteWorthy. "People want hands-on experiences."

On one trip, she told delegates, her clients went beyond watching the Changing of the Guard by visiting the stables, feeding the horses and talking to the guards about their lives and work.

"They went away feeling so much more immersed in that experience, rather than just being observers," she said.

Maria Batty, Chief Executive Officer of Nuvola Travel UK and Europe, echoed the demand for exclusive access. "They don't just want to go and see dolphins play where everyone else is looking at dolphins – they want to go and do a conservation project, and something that actually means something," she said.

This trend has also led to a move away from traditional guided tours to shorter, more focused experiences. "We were doing four to eight-hour tours before Covid," said Butler. "Now people have got attention spans that last less than two hours, myself included!"

2. Supplier relationships are vital to delivering complex trips

With affluent travellers seeking keenly bespoke experiences, strong supplier relationships are becoming essential to delivering on their expectations, said Winged Boots Founder and Managing Director David Ox.

From sourcing sought-after tickets for major sporting events and music tours to arranging "exclusive experiences", Ox said advisors needed the right contacts to respond quickly when clients made a request – and create a good "product stream" for their businesses.

"Your supplier relationships are key," he said. "You need to be at events like Black Book where you can form relationships and make sure that you've got the answers when these customers do pick up the phone to you."

3. Backpacking spots are the next big destinations

Backpackers are the canary in the coal mine for luxury destinations, according to the panel, offering agents a valuable insight into where affluent travellers could head next. Batty pointed to Vietnam, once popular with backpackers before evolving into an established luxury destination, as a prime example.

"Look where the backpackers are going – in 10 years' time, that'll be a luxury hotspot! They're always trail-finding, and doing routes that no one does yet," she said.

Batty added that hotel investment is another healthy indicator of early demand, citing Colombia and Uruguay as destinations "of interest" – while Norway is also "having a moment" as a result of conflict in the Middle East.

"I mean, the Waldorf Astoria is opening in Helsinki," Batty said. “Luxury travellers are thinking 'let's go and do something really remote in Norway, which is safe'."

4. AI should free up advisors to deliver greater value

The broad consensus of the panel was that luxury agencies should use AI to streamline administrative tasks, improve efficiency, and give advisors more time to focus on clients.

Butler explained she has used AI to speed up internal processes, reducing the time needed to build a programme in her Salesforce system from 20 minutes to three.

"Now, when an invoice comes in, the advisor no longer has to deal with it – Claude can," she said. 

Ox said the business wanted to use AI to make its team more efficient and free up time for "relationship-building", though he stressed this meant AI wasn't a worthy stand-in for the "human touch".

"We're not looking to replace people within our business, we're looking to just get more out of them," he said. "The power of a luxury travel agent is knowing your customer – that's golden for us right now."

However, Batty warned delegates that agents should not trust "general open AI" with client information.

"Privacy and exclusivity are really important to high-net-worth clients," she said. "They do not want their passports online with an AI they don't know."