Speaking at Traveller Made’s opening forum, Winston Chesterfield – director of Wealth-X Custom Research – said there are now 255,810 Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) worldwide, up by almost 13% year-on-year.

UHNWIs are defined as those with investable assets of at least $30 million, and their global population is forecast to rise to 360,390 by 2022, while their net worth will grow from $31.5 trillion to $44.3 trillion, Chesterfield said.

He added that by 2025, there will be 500,000 UHNWIs worldwide, but warned delegates at the conference these exclusive customers would not all be looking for the same kinds of travel experiences and brands.

“Just because they are all wealthy, doesn’t mean they should be seen as an amorphous set of people; they are distinct even within the UHNWIs bracket and there is a huge difference in what they want,” said Chesterfield.

The “Just Arrived” wealthy would seek to “show wealth by using confident brands that psychologically make them feel they have made it”, while “Arrived Wealth” would seek out more independent brands that do things more positively, and wealthy “Epicureans” would want brands “that are yet to be discovered”.

He added travel was very important to this group across the board, though.

“It is their number one passion,” he said.