On Location: Luxury booms, AI rises – but humans still rule at Virtuoso Travel Week

Luxury travel is booming, artificial intelligence is accelerating and travellers are increasingly going farther, staying longer and spending more.

But amid all the talk of trends and new technology at the 38th annual Virtuoso Travel Week, one message rang particularly loud in Las Vegas: the future of luxury travel is still decidedly human.

PAX was on location from Aug. 9 to 13 for Virtuoso’s flagship global gathering, an annual mega-event that has earned the nickname the “Fashion Week of Luxury Travel.”

And mega is an appropriate word.

Some 4,800 attendees descended on the entertainment capital, representing a global mix of luxury hotels, tour operators, cruise lines, experience providers, tourism boards and travel advisors.

READ MORE: On Location: Virtuoso Travel Week – Canada comes in hot, “looksmaxxing” & the AI dance

The week unfolded through networking sessions, one-on-one appointments, workshops and social events across stylish glam properties – the Bellagio, ARIA, Vdara and The Cosmopolitan.

Canada had a notable presence, with 89 attendees representing 75 per cent of Virtuoso agencies in the country.

Canadian agencies on the ground included host agencies like TTI Travel, Trevello Travel Group, YYZ Travel and Direct Travel, alongside boutique agencies such as Zebrano Travel, Momenti Travel and The Pelican Club, among others.

“This is the premier event of the year for Virtuoso globally,” Karen Hardie, general manager of Virtuoso Canada, told PAX in a sit-down interview. “It’s important for Canadians because we all get together in one place, but it’s also an opportunity to meet with partners and members from all around the world.”

This year brought a stronger Canadian advisor turnout than last year, and if the mood on the meeting (and dance) floors was any indication, luxury travel has plenty of momentum behind it.

As PAX previously reported, Virtuoso is projecting global network sales to increase 20.8 per cent year over year in 2026.

In Canada, Virtuoso-affiliated agency sales are up 13.4 per cent.

READ MORE: On Location: Fallcations, “city-maxxing” & analog escapes - Virtuoso maps luxury travel’s next wave

“With most numbers, it’s a little bit of everything,” Hardie explained. “The membership continues to grow. We know prices are increasing, but more people are travelling, which is exciting for everyone.”

The backdrop is equally compelling. Virtuoso says ultra-high-net-worth individuals – those with more than $30 million in assets – are growing at seven times the rate of the general population, with their numbers expected to increase by 34 per cent by 2030.

For luxury travel advisors, that expanding market is creating opportunities. But what affluent clients are buying, when they travel and what they expect from an advisor are evolving.

AI rises, but so does human value

Artificial intelligence was one of the dominant themes at this year’s event.

As AI reshapes nearly every corner of travel, Virtuoso’s CEO, Matthew Upchurch, believes the future belongs not to advisors who attempt to compete with machines, but to those who understand precisely where human value matters most.

READ MORE: On Location: Virtuoso in Vegas – Canadians still travelling, but luxury is getting more intentional, advisors say

Upchurch framed the transformation as something far greater than another technology cycle.

Travel, he said, has entered a new “epoch,” where the definition of value itself is changing.

“Human advising stays meaningful even in the face of exponential technological change,” Upchurch told attendees at Virtuoso’s session last Sunday.

As technology becomes democratized and tools once viewed as competitive differentiators become widely available, Upchurch argued that advantages built around technology alone will become increasingly difficult to defend.

For advisors, he sees an opportunity.

AI can increasingly take care of predictable tasks. But when a trip becomes complicated, emotional or high-stakes, travellers may place an even greater premium on judgment, reassurance, advocacy and trust.

“What we know is that as AI accelerates, value will change and shift. But we also know that it clusters. It clusters in moments when trust matters most, decisions feel high stakes, emotions are elevated, and complexity is real,” Upchurch said.

“These are the moments that clients remember and pay a premium for, and that's when authentic human connection becomes a compelling competitive mode.”

At the same time, Virtuoso is putting AI to work, unveiling a collective intelligence platform, at Travel Week that's designed to help advisors with tasks such as building itineraries and managing back-end processes.

For Hardie, the equation is straightforward: let technology handle more of the admin so advisors can devote more time to clients.

“It’s helping the advisor become more efficient,” she told us. “If you can automate the predictable, you can spend more time on human connection. That is really where the Virtuoso travel advisor excels. It’s all about trust.”

And there’s a certain level of service that comes with using a Virtuoso-certified travel advisor.

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 network equips advisors with marketing tools, invitations to exclusive events and access to some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and travel suppliers, which extend added perks to clients who book through a Virtuoso advisor, from complimentary breakfast and champagne to late check-out privileges.

“The weirdest year ever”

Technology may be changing the mechanics of selling travel, but geopolitics, rising airfare and changing consumer priorities are influencing what Canadians actually buy.

For Zeina Gedeon, CEO of Trevello Canada, 2026 has been anything but conventional.

“It has been the weirdest year,” she told PAX over a Trevello-hosted breakfast at Sadelle's in the Bellagio earlier in the week. “The price of tickets is huge. People that were planning to do two trips are now doing one, but spending more. Instead of going twice to the Caribbean, they’ll go to Europe for three weeks.”

Between the impact of high jet fuel prices, brought on by conflict in the Middle East, and the ongoing geopolitical situation between Canada and the United States,  the year has been “like a yo-yo,” Gedeon said.

However: “The most surprising thing is that every partner we spoke to [at Virtuoso Travel Week] is up double digits. And next year is phenomenal,” she said.

Trevello is also seeing a shift within its own advisor community. Gedeon said more advisors are moving into luxury sales and higher-priced vacations.

And the sector is also drawing newcomers. Trevello brought a contingent of 25 advisors to Las Vegas this year — one of the largest among host agencies in attendance — with many of those delegates new to the industry.

“We have one person with us who hasn’t been with us a month,” Gedeon said.

But selling luxury, she stressed, is about far more than putting an expensive hotel or cruise into a booking.

The biggest misconception about selling luxury, she said, is that it’s easy to do.

“The booking part is easy,” she said, “but as an advisor, you need to know your stuff. If you’re selling really high-end products, there are strong nuances. You have to experience it firsthand to truly sell it. That’s the biggest piece.” 

The ultra-affluent traveller keeps spending

Success is also being felt at the boutique agency level.

For Cathy Holler of B.C.-based Momenti Travel, who has been attending Virtuoso Travel Week for more than 30 years, this year's gathering reflected how much her own business has evolved.

Once heavily specialized in exotic destinations and Africa, Momenti's business has expanded into cruising, FIT travel across Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and even the private jet market.

“I feel like everybody we met with at Travel Week was really well matched to us,” Holler told PAX at a special Canadian reception that was held for advisors on Wednesday (Aug. 12). “There's not one supplier we couldn't work with. I love meeting new suppliers and being surprised.”

That made Virtuoso Travel Week's marathon of meetings particularly relevant this year.

Holler arrived in Las Vegas last Saturday to participate in “Globetrotting," Virtuoso’s interactive trade show and supplier showcase, and attended various sessions and hotel committee meetings.

The week also included time with Singita, one of Momenti's major luxury partners in Africa.

“The conversations were relative to our business,” she said.

More importantly, Holler said business itself is booming. “We have been very fortunate. Our business has grown exponentially this year and it's all referrals.”

Momenti's position at the upper end of the market has also provided some insulation from economic pressures affecting other travellers.

“We've been fortunate to be in that upper echelon of the uber-affluent,” she said. “They are resilient to a lot of the issues. We're selling Business Class consistently, hotel rooms for two, three thousand Euros. Our African safaris are averaging at least $40,000 per person now.”

If Holler has noticed softness, she said it has been further down the price spectrum.

“Luxury is the place to be playing right now,” she said. “We're up a lot over last year, and next year is already looking to track more.”

That momentum is also prompting Momenti to explore new ways of doing business.

The agency specializes in custom, concierge-style bespoke travel, but Holler said clients are increasingly asking about small-group departures – particularly solo women interested in travelling together.

She tested the concept in Africa last year with a group of eight women and is now considering developing Momenti's own hand-selected departures.

Canada-U.S. tensions redraw the map

One of the biggest questions hanging over Canadian travel in 2026 is the United States, which has declined amid political and trade backlash.

The answer, in luxury, is nuanced. Hardie said affluent Canadians haven't abandoned the U.S. to the same degree as some other segments.

“The data shows that travellers in the income bracket of $200,000 or more a year have continued to travel to the U.S.,” she said. “Affluent travellers have continued to travel to the U.S. and will continue to do so.”

There has, nevertheless, been a shift, with Mexico and the Caribbean benefiting from some displaced U.S. demand.

Hardie also pointed to South America, Japan and India as growth markets, while Europe remains evergreen.

At TTI Travel, the pullback from the United States has produced an unexpected result: more luxury business.

“There’s no doubt that since the geopolitical situation between Canada and the U.S. took shape that a lot of Canadians are avoiding the United States,” said Rocky Racco, CEO and owner of TTI Travel. “But that’s actually driven our growth. Instead of people going short distances to their condos in Florida, they’re going further afield with longer stays, and more spend on airfare and cruises. From a luxury-selling perspective, it has worked to our advantage.”

Luxury “at the forefront of growth”

For Racco, who was attending Virtuoso Travel Week for his 20th time, the strength of the sector is difficult to overstate.

“Luxury travel is at the forefront of growth,” he said. “Coming out of COVID, TTI was growing at a pace of 20 per cent per annum. Over the last year and a half, we’ve accelerated to 30 per cent and with some key partners we’re up to 50 per cent. It’s incredible growth.”

So, what's selling? “Absolutely everything,” Racco said.

TTI’s clients tend to be well travelled individuals who are looking either for somewhere new or a deeper way to experience somewhere familiar.

“You can’t say you’ve been to Paris and have ‘done that.’ You could live in Paris for three years and not even scratch the surface,” he said.

Europe, Africa and India, and new high-end products, such as the Orient Express La Dolce Vita train in Italy and the Orient Express Corinthian sailing yacht, are driving today's luxury business, he said.

September is the new summer

Where luxury travellers go isn't the only thing changing. When they go is shifting, too.

One of Virtuoso's top trends this year is the rise of shoulder-season travel – or, as the network puts it, “Fall is the new summer.”

Hardie can see why. “For me, I’ve always felt like September is the best time to travel. The weather is a little less hot and when it's less busy, the experience is better,” she said. “I think there’s a growing understanding of the impact travel has on destinations and how moving into shoulder season helps with congestion in those summer months.”

TTI is seeing a similar shift.

“Off-season travel is taking hold so people can embrace a slower pace. [For example]: We’re developing Italy’s Calabria region in October with a FAM. The towns are back to their roots. It’s authentic travel,” Racco said.

His daughter, Camilla Racco, TTI's luxury partner relations and communications manager, said the “cool-cation” is also moving beyond simply avoiding Europe's hottest months.

“It has really taken off over last couple of years,” she said. “People are going to Europe in the fall to beat the heat, but I see more people seeking colder climates and not just making it about the beach. They’re going to Svalbard and the Arctic. They’re skiing. That lends itself well to off-season travel.”

Who you travel with matters

Another theme echoed across Virtuoso Travel Week: multi-generational travel.

“It’s a real trend,” Hardie said. “Grandparents, travelling with their children and their children’s children.”

Camilla Racco sees something deeper behind the trend.

“The geopolitical situation is making people focus on what’s important to them, what they want to be doing and who they want to do it with,” she said.

It fits neatly into the broader message that emerged in Vegas: luxury is becoming less about a simple definition of “expensive” and more about access, time, expertise, connection and experiences that matter personally.

Why showing up still matters

The location of Virtuoso Travel Week was itself part of the conversation this year.

Some Canadian travel advisors chose not to attend the Las Vegas event amid concerns about travelling to the U.S.

Hardie acknowledged this. “Everybody has to make a decision and feel comfortable anywhere in the world,” she said. “From Virtuoso’s perspective, this is a global event that just happens to be held in Vegas because of the sheer size of it. There aren’t a lot of places where you can hold an event of this size and complexity.”

For the Canadians who did make the trip, Hardie said the payoff extends beyond appointments.

“When you’re working on your own, which a lot of advisors are, you forget how stimulating it can be to be in an environment of likeminded people and how energizing it is to your business when you go back home,” she said.

Upchurch, meanwhile, stressed that Las Vegas represents only one piece of Virtuoso's global events strategy.

“Everybody needs to make their own judgement,” he told PAX at a press conference. “We'll do 90 events around the world, and while Virtuoso Travel Week is our single-largest global event, two thirds of all the networking [happens] in other countries, like Canada.”

In other words, Canadian advisors don’t always have to travel south of the border to tap into the Virtuoso experience.

Through regional events such as “On Tour” and “Connects,” Virtuoso brings its network directly to advisors across the country — and, as Upchurch noted, hosts more regional events in Canada than it does in the U.S.

Racco was more emphatic about the value of attending Travel Week.

“Being here at Virtuoso Travel Week is being at the epicentre of luxury travel,” he said. “I encourage our colleages from across Canada to be here. It’s a global community. Here, we can refresh our knowledge, gain insights and look after our clients’ [travel] investments.”

For Virtuoso Canada, meanwhile, the strategy remains firmly centred on the people selling travel.

“Our primary focus is on the frontline travel advisor,” said Hardie. “Improving the lives and compensation of frontline travel advisors by utilizing our partnerships with suppliers around the world.”

A new chapter

Virtuoso's Canadian growth can also be attributed to established agencies joining the network.

Among the first-timers at Travel Week in Vegas this year were Kathleen and George Hardy of Toronto-based G/Hardy Travel, a 40-year-old agency that joined Virtuoso just two weeks ago.

For the Hardys, their first Travel Week doubled as an intensive introduction to a new community.

“It's exhilarating,” Kathleen told PAX at Virtuoso’s Canadian reception. “It's a crash course and boot camp all at the same time, and we're really honoured to be here.”

For George, joining Virtuoso closes a loop that's been years in the making. The name “Virtuoso” had frequently surfaced in conversations with G/Hardy Travel's own clients.

“I'd heard the name for years from clients who said ‘I'll do that trip, but I can't because I'm a Virtuoso.’ Now, we can announce that we’re part of it. We’re really excited.’

After six days in Las Vegas, the paradox at the heart of Virtuoso Travel Week was hard to miss.

Luxury travel is moving deeper into the age of AI, but at the same time, the industry's most valuable currency may be becoming more old-fashioned: knowledge, relationships and trust.

The bots may be getting smarter. But at the “Fashion Week of Luxury Travel,” humans still ruled the room.

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