Jetgala - MAR-MAY 2023

50 W FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Here’s how you can cope in the midst of surging demand for luxury travel and dipping supply of aeroplanes and hospitality-related manpower L U X U R Y T R A V E L I N 2 0 2 3 by In t e r v i ew by Li l i Li Mike Harlow for Jetgala’s March 2023 Issue What are the general prospects for luxury travel in 2023? What factors will likely determine these prospects? As we’ve learnt during the pandemic, luxury travel was one of the more resilient segments within the overall travel industry; we observed that luxury travellers restarted travelling comparatively early on. Going into 2023, we see that demand remains strong amongst the luxury traveller segment. This year, we have seen an uptick of interest amongst HNW and UHNW individuals for far-flung bucket list destinations such as Antarctica and Latin America. Destinations such as Italy, Japan and South Africa continue to remain popular with our guests too. It is absolutely essential, now more than ever, to book as far in advance as possible as availability and rates can prove extremely challenging for last-minute bookings – especially as the industry is trying to cope with the huge surge in demand while rebuilding from events in the recent few years. What challenges are travel providers facing in 2023 (plane shortage and others)? Are these problems likely to affect the luxury market? What stop- gap solutions are available for travel providers to address the problem immediately? The plane shortage has been compounded by other issues such as a shortage of labour—which applies to hotels and even local guides—due to the layoffs during the pandemic. Macroeconomic factors are also driving costs up and it’s likely to continue into 2024. Regional airlines in SE Asia are still building their connectivity leading to a lack of competition. All these are the various challenges that travel providers are facing in the year ahead. We’ve worked on and continue to work to build a very carefully curated collection of properties and experiences to offer to our guests.This also means that we are doing our own checks to ensure that the local suppliers we work with are recovering well and are in the best position to support our guests. With all this in mind, we still strongly recommend booking in advance, because this means we will have a better chance of being able to secure the best guides, hotels and transfers and so on for your trip, ensuring a consistent standard of service throughout.