Luxury travelers’ favorites: world cruises and island-hopping
Taking a world cruise and sailing the Mediterranean by private yacht turned up as the “Most Desired Travel Experiences” top two destinations for luxury travelers, says Virtuoso.
Australia, Italy, South Africa, New Zealand and Greece appeared as the top five “Dream Destinations,” added Virtuoso, a luxury focused network of travel advisors that released its fifth annual “Travel Dreams” survey.
The Greek Isles also emerged as the “Top Island Escape,” especially with women, single travelers older than 50 years of age and travelers hailing from the southern US.
“Former favorites such as the Galápagos Islands slipped from the ‘Trips of a Lifetime’ category to make room for experiences like chartering a private jet,” the site says.
The Caribbean, a previous favorite in the “Dream Destinations” category, was replaced by newcomers like China and Ireland.
The rising popularity of historical journeys and cultural experiences, both of which rank high as “Most Appealing Travel Experiences,” may account for the shift in destination preferences, according to the site.
Responses came from its magazine, “Virtuoso Life.”
Virtuoso identifies its readers as married (73 percent), female (61 percent) with children age 18 or older (47 percent).
Sixty-two percent of readers are between the ages of 35 and 65, and 46 percent have household incomes in excess of US$150,000. Sixty percent plan to take three or more short vacations this year (defined as four nights or less), while 63 percent will take an additional one-to-two longer vacations and 33 percent will take more than three longer vacations this year (defined as five nights or longer).
By David Wilkening
David
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