Wellness – and particularly mental wellbeing – also continues to move up the list of priorities wealthy travellers factor into their holiday bookings, as they also look to donate to local communities, fly less and prioritise sustainability in their bookings. 

The findings were presented at ILTM Cannes on 6 December, after the global luxury network surveyed 1,200 affluent and high-net-worth individuals from 14 countries, including the UK. The research took place during the second half of 2022, for ILTM’s Global: Decoding the Luxury Travel Consumer’s Mindset report. 

The research found 69% of travellers from the UK plan to increase their travel spending next year, the highest figure across all European countries. When asked if they now prefer to spend their money on luxury experiences, rather than luxury goods, 71% of Brits agreed – more than any other country. 

The report explained: “With the immediate threat of the pandemic receding, there is now clear evidence of people looking to make up for lost time via ‘revenge spending.’ Travel is ideally placed to capitalise on this after being prohibited for large parts of the past two years. Many affluent individuals have saved money over the past two years and are now looking to travel in style with more unique and memorable trips with ‘revenge travel’.” 

Brits are also more likely to take beach, city and rural or countryside trips in 2023 compared to travellers from other countries.

The importance of agents 

The report found travel advisors have become even more of a key resource for clients  post-Covid, and noted: “Indeed, their importance may have grown further after the past two years, with the increasing bureaucracy and complexity of travelling making them even more valuable. Around half of those who use travel advisors do so for a combination of services, with relatively few using them to only help book flights or hotels.”

Flexibility to adjust to booking changes and being up-to-date on the latest travel rules and regulations are the two main reasons why wealthy travellers plan to use travel advisors. 

The report said “traveller demands appear to be higher than ever”, highlighting several new post-Covid responsibilities that most affluent travellers now expect their agent to deal with, including transparency around cancellations, monitoring Covid statuses and getting hygiene information. 

Deciding factors 

Noting that the health and safety and hygiene of a location is something many travellers largely took for granted prior to 2020, the report found this is now the most important factor influencing holiday bookings among all travellers. Retail and food and drink was the second most important factor, followed closely by culture, arts and history. 

Traveller interest in health and wellness travel has “remained robust and, arguably, even strengthened,” with 53% of European respondents saying health and wellness is now a big factor when planning a trip. Relaxing and slow holidays were popular with 50% of travellers, compared to 25% choosing active holidays. 

Sustainability was another key issue, and 40% of European travellers expect to take more sustainable and eco-friendly holidays in the future. ILTM found 94% of all travellers are prepared to pay "a little more" for sustainable holidays, with more than half willing to pay upwards of 20% extra for these types of trips.

The report said making commitments such as signing up to The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism or showing the carbon footprint of trips would be “well received by many clients.”

The report forms the second edition of ILTM’s Buzz vs Reality research, in partnership with American Express Travel. All participants were among the top 5% of their country’s income earners or wealth holders, and the research was conducted by luxury and wealth market research specialist Altiant.