Jetgala - MAR-MAY 2023

53 L U X U R Y T R A V E L I N 2 0 2 3 Is the pandemic still a major factor in the way luxury travellers are choosing to travel? What have we learned from this collective experience? With life more or less resuming to what it was prior to the pandemic, while it no longer is a major factor in the way luxury travellers are choosing to travel, there is a segment of travellers who are still cautious for sure; in our latest year-end guest survey, we found that 31 per cent of guests — who, while keen to travel — are remaining cautious. We have also seen that a more thoughtful and mindful approach has definitely emerged as our guests are preferring to spend one to two weeks exploring a single destination, travelling and exploring a destination deeper instead of trying to squeeze more destinations to see within the same period — a likely shift that happened after the pandemic, in line with the move towards mindful travel. Travel has become much more personal and unique to individuals than pre-pandemic – the demand for more off-the-beaten path, less generic tours, and activities has risen, coupled with the demand to travel again to celebrate life’s key milestones such as anniversaries and honeymoons.There has also been more interest in slow travel options such as rail travel or exploring by boat. How can consumers and travellers insulate and better protect themselves from being affected by such challenges as lack of airplanes to service the travel surge? Booking early helps with securing the best availability and rates but before going ahead with any sort of booking, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of how flexible the booking terms are in case you need to utilise them, and what sort of grounds would allow you to. Having more than 35 years of experience in travel, the Scott Dunn team is aware of how quickly things can change, so while it can be difficult to plan for the unplannable, we provide all our guests 24/7 support, no matter where they are in the world. Also, with our wide network of local suppliers, there is an added layer of on-the- ground protection as we work closely with them to ensure our guests are safe and well taken care of. Which destinations make up the better option for travellers, and in what particular ways? We send out an annual guest survey at the end of each year to better understand what our guests are looking for, and off our 2022 year-end survey (see highlights in box), we’ve noted that countries such as Bhutan, Croatia, Cambodia, New Zealand and Japan are popular destinations that our guests are looking to visit and explore. We also ensure that our travel specialists know the destinations they sell and are regularly sent out for familiarisation trips to get a first-hand view and experience of the destinations and properties in our portfolio.This ensures that we are up-to-date with the best offerings at each destination allowing us to curate tailormade holidays for each guest based on their individual preferences. “Luxury travel was one of the more resilient segments within the overall travel industry (during the pandemic), (and) luxury travellers restarted travelling comparatively early on.”