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On Location: “The voice of luxury”: Canada makes its mark at Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas
08-16-2024
10:08 am
Michael Pihach
Michael Pihach is an award-winning journalist with a keen interest in digital storytelling. In addition to PAX, Michael has also written for CBC Life, Ryerson University Magazine, IN Magazine, and DailyXtra.ca. Michael joins PAX after years of working at popular Canadian television shows, such as Steven and Chris, The Goods and The Marilyn Denis Show.
Hearing luxury travel advisor Kemi Wells-Conrad talk about the destinations she’s sending her customers to is like watching an episode of Where In The World Is Carmen Santiago?
Her clientele, a database of big spenders ranging from 30 to 80 years old, could be anywhere.
“I’ve got a lot of Australia and New Zealand trips at the moment, several families going to Africa, the usual Europe,” says Wells-Conrad, owner of Vancouver, B.C.-based Wells Luxury Travel, listing off just a handful of the dreamy itineraries she’s crafting at the moment.
“My departures are covering most of the world. It’s a lot of celebrations, big birthday trips, couples travelling together. It’s a fun mix.”
It’s also a sign that the demand for luxury travel, a lucrative segment that drove the travel industry’s post-COVID recovery, is still riding high – even if some suppliers, weary of economic headwinds, say otherwise.
Canada on the scene
The best and next of luxury travel was on parade in Las Vegas this week at Virtuoso Travel Week, an annual trade extravaganza for advisors and suppliers, spread across four hotels (the Aria, Vdara, Bellagio and Cosmopolitan) that, this year, welcomed more than 4,700 attendees from 97 countries.
Wells-Conrad was one of the thousands attending “The Fashion Week of Travel," as it’s called, and one of 117 travel advisors from Canada, where Virtuoso, the consortium, has been finessing its local influence since 2021 when it regionalized, hiring territory-specific general managers.
READ MORE: On Location: “It hasn’t slowed down”: Luxury advisors talk trends at Virtuoso Travel Week
In Canada, former CWT executive Úna O'Leary was tapped to lead Virtuoso’s Canadianization, which, over the course of three years, has resulted in the hiring of a coast-to-coast support team, the translation of Virtuoso’s training materials into French, enhanced PR and a calendar of Canada-focused events (Forum, On Tour and Connects) that have brought advisors and partners closer together.
For O’Leary (and Canada’s 25 Virtuoso-certified agencies, representing more than 1,800 advisors), it’s been a welcome change from before, when the bulk of Virtuoso’s initiatives were primarily viewed through a U.S. lens.
READ MORE: On Location: “Silver bullet” wellness & “coolcations”: Virtuoso shares 2024’s travel trends
“There’s a lot more awareness of Canada as a region. People know we’re not part of the U.S., but still one amazing global organization,” said O’Leary, speaking to PAX Wednesday night (Aug. 14) at Vegas’ Aria hotel, where a reception for Virtuoso Travel Week’s Canadian delegation was held in the hotel’s spa, where guests were treated to champagne and complimentary hand and back massages.
This year’s Virtuoso Travel Week, which kicked off Aug. 10 and concludes today (Aug. 16), saw the same number of Canadian attendees as last year. But they weren’t the same people – around 50 per cent, this year, are first timers, O’Leary said.
“We have a mix of tenured and new advisors, which gives us an opportunity to have mentors, but also introduce new folks to what luxury and Virtuoso Travel Week is all about,” O’Leary said.
“The Voice of Luxury”
The conference is an extension of the Virtuoso consortium, a network of independent luxury travel agencies with more than 22,000 travel advisors worldwide.
The week-long event, this year themed “The Voice of Luxury,” is packed with learning sessions, one-on-ones and big-budget parties that send attendees in multiple directions.
This year introduced something called “Braindate,” which offered small-group conversations on topics posted by attendees – like artificial intelligence and LGBTQ+ travel – before and during the conference.
The third annual Travel Tech Summit also took place, which aimed to enhance human connection in travel, rather than replace it.
In the general program, there were tracks for Virtuoso agency owners and managers, who are able to select their own meeting times and partners.
Wells-Conrad falls into this exclusive group. The appointments she was able to secure were invaluable, like being able to meet one-on-one with the general managers of two upscale hotels in Zermatt, Switzerland, where she’s planning to send her client on a 50th birthday trip.
“That’s the power of connections here,” she said.
There were invitation-only spaces, too, like the Pinnacle Lounge, where top producers can meet with select partners.
READ MORE: Trevello ramps up luxury strategy, aims to add 1,000 advisors in 2025 with U.S. expansion
Wells-Conrad also had access to this space, where she participated in a presentation led by Dr. Sylvia Earle, renown American marine biologist and oceanographer, who is the namesake of one of Aurora Expeditions’ ships.
Virtuoso Canada’s current and incoming Regional Member Advisory Board members also had a chance to meet.
These are travel pros that support Virtuoso members and advisors in Canada by sharing their insights and feedback, which drives strategy and support for the entire network.
"It’s emotional to think how far Canada has come,” said Wells-Conrad, who, this year, ends her tenure on Virtuoso’s Global Advisory Board, where she has represented Canada for seven years.
The meeting was also a perfect place to present Ontario-based Wendy Davis, owner of Zebrano Travel, with the Ruby of Siam global award, which is awarded to a member who gives their time and wisdom to elevate Virtuoso’s collective reputation and perceived value.
Davis was the recipient in 2021 and “we are happy that the award has finally made its way home,” O’Leary wrote on her LinkedIn page this week.
“Way better than I expected”
Other activations at Virtuoso Travel Week include a “Community Globetrotting” fair, which spotlights different “Communities” – cruise, adventure and sustainability – in pavilions, where attendees visit immersive booths, in ten-minute intervals, to learn about the latest products.
New to this year was a Hotel Showcase space, where attendees could engage with the world’s leading luxury accommodations, as well as the introduction of matched appointments (as opposed to assigned meetings).
“It was way better than I expected,” said Alberta-based Melanie Johnston of LuxeXperts, attending Virtuoso Travel Week for the first time. “The people I’ve met, from suppliers to DMCs to tour operators to hoteliers, are people we typically don’t see.”
LuxeXperts is a specialization offered by Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), which joined Virtuoso in 2022. The LuxeXpert program, which launched in 2021, teaches advisors how to sell luxury travel and navigate the marketplace. To qualify for Virtuoso status, TDC travel consultants must obtain their LuxeXpert certification.
Johnston has been a travel advisor for more than 40 years, but only earned her Virtuoso status three years ago. What kind of impact did it have on her business?
“Huge,” Johnston told PAX. “Joining Virtuoso is about getting the niche market you want. The luxury client is there. It comes down to presenting what’s out there.”
That’s what surprised Johnston the most at Virtuoso Travel Week – just how many luxury experiences are available, and how so much of it is unknown to high-net-worth consumers.
“The best part was learning how to sell luxury,” Johnston said. “A lot of people don’t realize what’s out there.”
Her favourite session was hearing from an experienced travel advisor talk about ways to add “wow” factors to trips. This is one of Johnston’s passions – building itineraries, full of “wow” moments, that capture the essence of what clients want to see and feel. Like the time she sent a couple to New Zealand for an American Cup sailing.
It sounds a lot like the go-big-or-go-home bookings that defined the post-COVID boom of 2023, when everything was about “revenge travel,” the act of taking a trip that wasn't able to happen due to the pandemic.
In Johnston’s world, revenge travel is still a thing, except it’s happening mostly within the confines of her repeat clients, she said.
“People are still seeking out advisors”
Speaking for Virtuoso, O’Leary said the demand for luxury travel isn’t cooling, despite some whispers of an industry-wide slowdown.
“There’s continuity with our advisors,” she said. “People are still seeking out advisors.”
Virtuoso’s internal data, a treasure chest of market trends, supports this. The consortium says it has seen a 76 per cent increase in the number of people looking for an advisor through its website this year.
Because there’s a certain level of service that comes with using a Virtuoso-certified professional. Members undergo extensive training to serve their clientele, which, collectively, can be summed up as a global gold mine of high-net-worth travellers.
The organization equips its members with marketing tools, invites to exclusive events, and access to the world’s most luxurious hotels and suppliers, which will shower clients with perks (such as complimentary breakfast, champagne or late check-out privileges at hotels) when travel is booked through a Virtuoso advisor.
Clients for the long term
Wells-Conrad, who launched her travel agency at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic under the belief that the right clientele would be happy to pay for expert planning services (she was right) views luxury as an untapped market in Canada.
“I still have new people finding me who have never worked with an advisor before,” Wells-Conrad said. “I got a call last week from someone saying: ‘I had no idea these services that you offer existed. We have all these ideas about where we want to travel.’”
When calls like this come in, Wells-Conrad sets her sights on building a relationship, as opposed to quick sale.
“I try not to do one-time transactions,” she said. “I want to work with clients for the long term. The more we get together from the first trip, the easier it gets over the years.”
“I’m not scared of AI”
It’s a telling anecdote as the travel industry continues to weigh the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) to determine if whether today’s easy-to-use, itinerary-building tech is a friend or foe.
Wells-Conrad doesn’t view AI as a threat to her business. If anything, it will enhance it, she said.
“I’m not scared of AI. It won’t take away my role as a luxury advisor who’s consulting clients,” she said.
AI is “blurring the realities of what’s real and what’s not,” she said, and as its limitations become clear, “people are going to want the support of a human.”
“I think AI will bring good travel advisors to the forefront even more, in my opinion,” said Wells-Conrad.
Virtuoso to add more advisors
As for Virtuoso’s strategy in Canada, O’Leary’s said the plan is to support preferred partners (which, in turn, supports the members) and focus on “organic growth.”
After all, the consortium doesn’t accept just anyone into the club. Advisors have to be the right fit, in a “So Virtuoso” kind of way, as the organization’s global campaign says.
Growth is happening, however. Globally, Virtuoso has expanded with 109 new partners—71 hotels, 26 tour and on-site partners, eight alliances and four cruise lines.
And, on the member side, 18 new members have joined, expanding Virtuoso’s presence to 58 countries—four more than last year.
This expansion appears to align with the demand. Already, Virtuoso is reporting a 14.3 per cent increase in global sales over 2023.
The organization’s sales are also pacing 211 per cent over 2019’s levels (which, according to Tourism Economics, is higher than the leisure travel industry at large, which sits at 126 per cent over 2019).
Speaking at a press conference for trade media on Monday (Aug. 12), David Kolner, Virtuoso’s executive vice-president, said the organization has grown by 15 per cent year-over-year.
“I would say that we’re maybe not adding enough to keep up with the demand and type of clients that are coming,” Kolner said, confirming that Virtuoso will be adding more advisors its network.
When that happens, will Virtuoso still be able to deliver exclusive experiences for its members? Kolner thinks so, citing the organization’s niche “Communities,” which tailors to the needs of advisors who sell specific categories of travel.
“We’re not going to have 250,000 advisors,” he said. “[However], there’s so much demand out there. We have an opportunity to add more choice for consumers in the luxury space.”
“I want everybody to have the opportunity to use a Virtuoso travel advisor…we’re just getting started.”
The wheels of globalization are indeed turning. Virtuoso now has more members outside of the U.S. than ever before. This is where advisors like Wells-Conrad see an opportunity – especially in Canada.
“It’s amazing because we get that buying power across the world,” she said. “We all benefit from the power of the network."
"We have so much more support. I’m really excited for the future of Canadian business.”
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