When it comes to high-end travel, forget the usual planes, trains and automobiles. In recent years, as luxury travel has exploded, so has the demand for luxury transportation to get to those exotic locales.
The size of the market for global luxury travel, estimated at $1.38 trillion in 2023, is expected to grow by almost 8% a year through 2030, according to Grand View Research. And one of the growing trends is for exclusive transit experiences such as luxury trains like the Belmond Venice Simplon-Orient-Express line through Europe, boat excursions such as the Aqua Mekong river cruise through Cambodia and Vietnam, and luxury yacht tours in outlandish locations — the global yacht charter market is expected to rise by almost 23% per year through 2027, according to Deloitte.
According to its recent survey, 68% of luxury travel advisers reported that “their clients are pulling out all the stops — taking longer vacations and spending more to help ensure privacy, from booking private jets, islands and villas to hiring guides with expertise that matches their interests.”
Part of the reason for the increased interest in luxury transportation is the increase in trips. “It used to be that you took one trip a year and one bucket trip in a lifetime,” said Kate Mitchell, a travel adviser at the Local Foreigner in New York. “But now if you have the means, there are more places to visit, there is more access to remote and exotic locations, and you can work from anywhere.”
FLIGHTS OF FANCY
To match the increasing demand, suppliers have gotten more creative, Mitchell said, serving the needs of the adventurous traveler with novel experiences that were previously unimaginable or off-limits. That includes around-the-world private jets and the recent trend for outer space travel.
Rather than take a six- to eight-seat Gulfstream or other private jet, Jim Ison’s clients are charting VIP luxury airliners like the Airbus ACJneo. “These flights are incredibly more expensive because they’re on another level,” said Ison, the founder of the 0.1% Group, which provides luxury travel services to members who pay at least $250,000 a year.
“These bigger airplanes have one or two full bedrooms on board, movie rooms, conference rooms, and they’re configured to accommodate 18-20 passengers, a whole family or two. It’s the top tier of what’s available in the world.”
Unlike traditional private jets, newer models can easily fly longer distances. That allows families to take three to four weeks to truly travel around the world, with stops in India and South Africa and South America, Mitchell said.
WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT
When it comes to boating, the options have expanded to include new yachts like the Hermes Catamaran, which includes suites with floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies and Jacuzzis for cruises of the Galapagos Islands. And next year, Four Seasons introduces its own line of yachts to travel the Caribbean and Mediterranean, featuring floating marinas designed for swimming and water sports.
For rail enthusiasts, the choices range from high-speed adventure to old-school style. In South Africa, the three-day Rovos Rail journey from Pretoria to Cape Town takes passengers through the grasslands of Highveld and the Great Karoo desert with views from the train’s open-air balconies. The Maharajas Express features seven-day rides through India, with a private butler for each car and a two-bedroom presidential suite.
“There’s an ever-growing emphasis on exclusive access and experiential travel,” Mitchell said. These travelers don’t want to be where everyone else is; they want to be in the Sistine Chapel by themselves or heli-skiing in Japan. Her clients have gone diving in Belize, traveling hut to hut in the Dolomites, hiking in Patagonia or horseback riding in Spain.
WHALE OF A TALE
For more adventurous clients, Ison has arranged some unique experiences. “I had a client come to me about sending his parents on an expedition to the Arctic. They took a private yacht to go see the penguins and do whale-watching, and then got to enjoy luxury dining on the ice.”
In addition, Ison said, “Volcano trips are getting very popular, either flying over the crater with a helicopter or via drone” in lands as varied as Greece, Indonesia and Iceland.
And sometimes, the mode of travel doesn’t involve any fancy machines or contraptions.
Mitchell said one of the most satisfying trips she arranged for clients involved a horseback-riding trip through Spain, “in which they rode on horses from town to town” for several days. Other such equine adventures are possible in the Himalayas, where you can spend three days riding through villages, stopping each night at a house designed for your comfort and ending in a luxury lodge high in the mountains.
“As they say,” Ison said, “the journey is the destination.”