ILTM: Luxury rides high in Singapore

Luxury travel continues to rise

ILTM Asia Pacific recently celebrated its most successful event to date in Singapore.

The demand for luxury travel continues to grow and there’s plenty planned to keep avid travellers happy with new hotels and ships being built.

ILTM showcased the growth and demand of luxury travel with a mix of high-end agents, suppliers and luxury travel journalists.

More than 780 curators of luxury travel representing high-net worth clients from 23 countries across the region – including Australia, China, India, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Korea – met with 780 global luxury travel suppliers throughout the event.

Event Director Polly Magraw commented: “We were privileged to have been able to facilitate 40,650 high-level, one-to-one meetings at ILTM Asia Pacific, a 10 per cent increase year on year,” she says.

“Business went on day and night as travel suppliers and buyers met with important partners as well as forging many new relationships – the passion of the industry was palpable.”

The event opened with an impactful Forum including a presentation by Simon Baptiste, Principal AsiaPacific Economist at Visa who, in addition to the forecast figure of 4.1 per cent relating to the growth in the Asia Pacific economy, also revealed that new wealth hubs and AI-driven fortunes are reshaping Asia’s affluent consumer base.

He says the biggest opportunities will be found in high-growth travel corridors and not just source markets, but where the high net worth are travelling to.

He predicts that future growth will need sharper segmentation, not only by market, but by generation and intent.

In addition to the new hotels and destinations at ILTM Asia Pacific, more than 50 per cent of the buyers were new this year.

The event also attracted more than 50 influential media from across the region who attended press conferences and events.

Roland Faisal, President, Capella Hotel Group says: “ILTM Asia Pacific is where the region’s luxury travel community comes together, evidenced by the quality of buyers, the depth of conversations, and the calibre of media in the room.”

Luxury travel buyers were also enthusiastic in their praise. Penny Spencer, Managing Director of Australia’s Spencer Travel says: “I’ve attended travel trade shows for more than 35 years, but this is my first ILTM and it has exceeded every expectation.

“The calibre of the exhibitors, and the opportunity to have conversations with luxury travel partners is exceptional. More than a trade show, this is a place to build meaningful relationships, deepen knowledge and create real opportunities.”