Affluent travellers are showing a bigger appetite for destinations and experiences that are new and inaccessible to most, creating new opportunities for luxury travel advisors to establish their reputation as expert purveyors of bespoke journeys while motivating luxury travel suppliers to stand out with new products in refreshing locations.
Annie Jatnipis, regional director – Asia with Travelbullz, said affluent travellers are now heavily influenced by opinion leaders on social media.
“If a respected travel influencer says this is a hidden gem, our affluent clients will want to be there too. If our clients discover an image or video of a destination few have heard of, they will want to be there right away. Ultimately, affluent travellers want the bragging rights of being at a place or engaging in an experience that few other travellers have access to,” Jatnipis told TTG Asia.
While social media influencers have persuasive power, Jatnipis said travel advisors have the expertise to turn travel dreams into a real journey.
“Travel advisors like us will have to change the way we connect with customers. We have gone onto social media channels to be seen as travel influencers ourselves, and are studying the marketplace more, such as through events like ILTM Asia Pacific, to pick out new and interesting products that we can recommend to our guests,” she added.
Simon Cordeiro, a luxury travel advisor and cruise specialist based in Adelaide, Australia, has also witnessed a stronger lure of new and lesser-known destination experiences.
As high-net-worth Australian clients “place a lot of trust in their travel advisors, and most would simply rely on my recommendations”, Cordeiro said it is crucial that he is aware of and has access to “interesting options”.
Tailormade journeys are now one of Abercrombie & Kent’s fastest-growing segments, driven by demand for personalised, experience-led travel, shared vice-president of marketing Michelle Mickan during a press briefing at ILTM Asia Pacific 2026. To better serve guests exploring all corners of the world, the company is expanding its network of destination offices.
“We cover all seven continents with bespoke adventures, intimate small-group journeys, private jet adventures – anything you can think of. We are operating in over 100 countries around the world with 70 offices, with recent openings in Scandinavia, South Korea, Bolivia, Indonesia and Costa Rica. We have plans to open more,” said Mickan.
She added affluent explorers are now drawn to Africa’s Botswana and Kenya, Egypt, China, Japan, India, Peru, Italy and Scandinavia, while Sri Lanka, South Korea, Costa Rica, Patagonia, Namibia, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Georgia are fast gaining attention. Abercrombie & Kent is ready to cater to travellers who want to go further and deeper, with new itineraries for all up and coming destinations.
For many affluent travellers, Asia-Pacific is a region of interest.
Jatnipis pointed out that many parts of the region are still unexplored.
“There are also many new hotel openings and fresh renovations in Asia-Pacific, even in familiar destinations. This region always offers something interesting for new travellers as well as repeat guests,” she said.
Good examples, according to Jatnipis, are the JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa, which she found to have stunning architecture and the promise of privacy, as well as Niccolo-branded hotels in Chongqing and Chengdu, China, both of which “are so trendy and suited for multi-generational travel”.
Anna Nash, president of Explora Journeys, an all-inclusive luxury ocean travel specialist, said clients around the world had pressed for itineraries in Asia-Pacific, leading the company to launch its Asian deployment for 2027-2028. Travellers can look forward to itineraries with longer port stays and multiple overnight calls in gateway cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Shanghai and Ho Chi Minh City for a more relaxed pace of travel.
“There’s something magical about sailing into some of these Asian ports – there is a real sense of maritime history and drama, and it beats arriving through a big airport,” Nash told TTG Asia.
She noted that clients based in Asia-Pacific are keen to cruise in their region too, after having travelled with Explora Journeys in the Mediterranean.
Fiza Han, managing director, APAC sales at Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), agrees that Asia-Pacific is “considered a land of mystery for many foreigners”, especially China and India, which are both rich in history and culture, with many destinations in both countries being “still new” to international tourists.
“There was a time when travel buyers would come to us and be keen on meeting hoteliers from the big cities of New York and Paris. Now, they want to connect with hoteliers from niche destinations so that they can get information on authentic activities and experiences that cannot be easily found online,” she said.
With LHW’s hotel inventory being 60 per cent resorts and 40 per cent city hotels, in both established and emerging destinations, Han believes that her group is well positioned to support travel advisors who have to curate off-the-beaten-track journeys.
Some of the latest additions to its global portfolio include the 25-key Nihi Rote & Hospitality Academy on a secluded corner of Rote Island in West Timor; the 100-room Espacio Nagoya Castle that faces the moat of historic Nagoya Castle; and the 148-suite Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas, with a secluded island setting.
