Five-star family travel trend energing

Nick Churchouse in NZ’s The Dominion Post says that luxury travellers are a prime target for New Zealand tourism, but the industry is changing and New Zealand needs to catch up.

Super-wealthy tourists, with Louis Vuitton luggage and diamond-studded passport holders, have become less obvious as high-end travel moves toward a new family focus.

Ruth Grau, a luxury travel wholesaler who was one of a panel of premium travel experts at this week’s Trenz travel conference in Rotorua, said demand in the United States for exclusive accommodation was becoming more popular with families.

The change in demographics meant old school, upper crust lodges were less suited to the new moneyed travel party, she said.

Ms Grau’s US-based company, Springboard Vacations, is the fastest growing New Zealand travel company in North America.

It typically caters for the high-end market, with travellers aged in the 30 to 50-year bracket, offering tailor-made packages such as Cool Capers with Kids.

Ms Grau said parents were less inclined to take their children to exclusive lodges where dining options were tailored specifically to adults and clients with children were instead opting for self-contained accommodation.

More and more of that type of accommodation was becoming available for the family market, but there was still room for more in New Zealand, Ms Grau said.

Huka Lodge sales manager Louise Smythe said the self-contained Owner’s Lodge at the exclusive Taupo resort was booked solid.

The Owner’s Lodge, set aside from the main complex, was exactly what the new demographic was looking for.

“They want the butler and the concierge and that sort of thing but they want to be left alone. We just can’t keep up with the demand,” she said.

New Zealand Lodge Association marketing executive Garrick Emms said the activities and atmosphere that supported family holidays in New Zealand were well established.

The translation of that into five-star service was an important shift for many of the association’s 23 members, which range from country to coastal lodges between $500 and $2000 a night.

Luxury property provider Essence NZ managing director Jennifer McBrearty said the emergence of eastern markets such as India and the Middle East emphasised the shift, as those cultures traditionally travelled with their family.

“We’ve just had a buyer who wants accommodation for a family of 14 from Dubai,” Ms McBrearty said.

Changing values, increased threats of terrorism and increasing demands in people’s working lives meant parents were less willing to leave their children at home, she said.

Essence NZ had been forced to provide cots and high chairs in all of its five North Island properties, due to the changing mix.

“It’s been a huge shift in the last season. We’ve seen the demand for the product really move.”

Ms Grau said high-end service was still required but with the option of bringing in a chef, nanny or even a child concierge.

That meant travellers could bring their families and still get the time out that they needed. “We are providing a much more mixed product now.”

The family experience in New Zealand looked beyond the beauty of landscapes and five-star accommodation, she said.

Mr Emms said luxury was not just about accommodation. “New Zealand is very lucky, there is a plethora of experiences surrounding each of these places (luxury lodges),” he said.

Sometimes, a little taste of everyday activities excites high-end travellers more than most people realise. “I think what really excites people is to actually come and do what we do,” he said.

Report by The Mole from the Dominion Post