Luxury travel market still booming

67% of people have taken at least three holidays in the last year following a survey of luxury consumers conducted by The Luxury Travel Fair.

The survey asked questions about travel and spending habits including what ‘luxury’ really means. The results highlighted that in spite of the economic crisis over the past couple of years, travellers have not cut down on their trips and the luxury travel market is still booming. A huge 80% confirmed they hadn’t cut down on holidays this year and over half of the respondents said they expected added value when booking a holiday and over a quarter said they expected to be given discounts of more than 10%.

In addition, when asked what the ultimate luxury experience on holiday is, 58% said walking on a deserted beach and/or discovering somewhere no-one else has been. When asked: ‘If money was no object, what would you spend it on?’ 84% of the respondents chose luxury holidays compared with only 1% who said they would spend it on gadgets and 3% on designer clothing and jewellery.

Catherine Thake, Show Director at Clarion Events said: “The travel industry has had a hard couple of years but our research shows that we’ve turned a corner and luxury travel is going from strength to stength which is very positive. According to the survey 80% of respondents are travelling as much, if not more, this year which can only be a good thing.”

54% of those asked said that when booking a holiday they expected added value and 26% said they expected to be given discounts of more than 10%. The questions relating to perception of luxury reveal that 68% of respondents consider ‘luxury’ to be free time and being able to travel rather than being able to buy whatever they want to.

The Luxury Travel Fair surveyed 731 luxury consumers, of which 64% were female, 36% male. Over 56% of those who responded were aged 50+ and despite the heightened interest in technology over the recent years, 46% named a book as the one item they would always pack in their hand luggage compared to an MP3 player or iPod which only 13% chose.

Advance tickets for The Luxury Travel Fair are £12.50 per adult and £6.50 per child. Tickets bought on the day are £15 each. Advance tickets for both The Luxury Travel Fair and Spirit of Christmas Fair are £16 per adult and £8.50 per child. Tickets for both shows bought on the day are £18 each. Children aged under 12 go free.

Tickets can be booked online at: luxurytravelfair.com

The advance box office closes on 3 November.