Forecast for Luxury Travel through 2010
The long-range forecast for the luxury travel sector now through 2010 is mixed - Bright and sunny for travel providers catering to the pleasure market; Storms and changing winds ahead for marketers that rely primarily on the business travel segment.
This according to a new trend report published by Unity Marketing entitled Forecast for Luxury Travel Through 2010: A Luxury Trend Report. It is based upon the results of a survey conducted in October 2-7, 2009 among 1,067 affluent consumers (avg. income $228,800).
Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, says, “So far in Unity Marketing’s quarterly luxury tracking study, the luxury travel sector has been one of the categories slower to recover from the recession.
The data shows that the recession for affluent consumers bottomed out at the end of third quarter 2008, but so far spending on luxury travel is down 22 percent for the first three quarters of 2009 as compared with same period last year. In effect, luxury travel was slower going into the recession, and is slower coming out.”
That means budget, discount, value are key words for travel providers that cater to the business market through 2010. The survey which looked at both the business and personal travel plans among affluent consumers (80 percent of whom are employed) found that while over 75 percent of business travelers expect to spend less or the same on business travel over the next 15 months, they will actually be increasing the pace of business travel.
The prospects for luxury travel through 2010 are more positive for the personal travel segment than business travel. The survey finds that when affluents travel for their personal pleasure, they are far more likely to move up-scale to the four- and five-star accommodations that they have come to enjoy over the years.
Luxury travel providers will find the sections of the report that explore what influences the luxury traveler in selecting destinations and travel providers especially valuable, as it helps brands identify strategies to connect more effectively with their target market.
“This trend report is written specifically for travel marketers that want the most up-to-date and salient facts about the luxury travel market. It will help them understand the trends in the current market and ways they can find new opportunities in serving the luxury traveler. It provides an invaluable supplement to a company’s own internal customer data by filling the holes and gaps about potential target segments not captured by internal company sources. It doesn’t overwhelm the busy executive with a lot of excess baggage, but presents them with the facts and figures they need to make informed decisions,” Danziger concludes.
