Your next luxe getaway is about to come with an even heftier price tag.
Despite lower inflation, the luxury travel industry has continued to see rates skyrocket post-Covid, CNBC Travel reported. Average daily rates across the sector peaked this year and were 70 per cent higher than in 2019, according to data from Virtuoso. However, these types of exclusive trips are only getting more expensive thanks to a spike in labour costs and ongoing supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic—as well as wealthy travellers’ ability to pay the increasing prices.
“They want something exclusive… and these companies are going to capitalise on it while they can,” Henry Harteveldt, president of Atmosphere Research Group, told CNBC Travel.
This upcoming July lays claim to the highest rate, in an 85 per cent increase from July 2019, according to a Virtuoso representative. It’s not just hotels that are reporting price hikes, either. The cost—and demand—of train trips and other elevated experiences has also escalated.
In fact, rates for Accor’s forthcoming La Dolce Vita Orient-Express itinerary climbed 75 per cent in just 16 months, the outlet reported. For context, prices for the one-night journey, which kicks off in Italy in spring 2025, jumped from €2,000 (or about HK$16,980) per person to a whopping €3,500 per person (about HK$29,715) as of last month. Similarly, CNBC Travel found that rates for Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express rose to £7,060 (HK$69,945) in March.
Even so, affluent individuals aren’t letting costs get in the way of their plans. “The luxury boom continues despite the flatlining economic activity in some major developed markets,” Dave Goodger, managing director at Tourism Economics, told CNBC Travel. “This has come as some travellers have traded up for more luxury experiences. It also reflects the fact that income and wealth levels, including accumulated savings, remain healthy for higher net wealth households.”
According to Virtuoso’s 2024 Luxe Report, more than half of the advisors that the platform surveyed expect travel demand and the amount per trip to continue to increase this year. So where are all the well-heeled travellers headed? Turns out, they’re all for exploring far-flung destinations and less-visited locales, including Japan, Iceland, Norway, Croatia, Antarctica, and Portugal, to name a few. Of course, as Paris gears up to host the Summer Olympics, the City of Lights has also topped a lot of people’s lists.
