Luxury travel demand is accelerating, with travellers increasingly choosing longer stays, shoulder-season trips, multicity itineraries and wellness experiences, according to the latest findings from Virtuoso, unveiled at its 38th annual Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas.

Virtuoso’s global network is on track for a nearly 21% year-on-year increase in sales, building on strong growth in 2025.

China leads regional growth at 34%, followed by the UK and Ireland at 26%, the Middle East and Africa at 24%, and Continental Europe at 23%.

Hotels are leading partner growth at 25%, while bookings at properties costing $1,500 or more per night are up 37%.

Fall is emerging as the new peak season, with autumn bookings up 59% and sales 69%. September sales have surged 77%, while November bookings and sales have both increased by more than 70%.

European fall bookings are up 49% despite rates rising more than 7%, indicating travellers are prioritising the experience rather than lower prices.

Luxury travellers are also embracing “city-maxxing”, linking multiple destinations into longer itineraries.

France and Italy is the most popular pairing, while Italy features in two out of five multicity routes.

Future travel confidence remains strong, with leisure sales booked one and two years ahead up 50%.

Wellness is another major growth area, with wellness hotel bookings up 28% and sales 44%.

Artificial intelligence is widely adopted, with 74% of Virtuoso advisors using it, but travellers continue to value human expertise.

Meanwhile, 69% of advisors report rising demand for multigenerational and family travel, followed by luxury ocean cruising at 63%.

Overall, the findings point to a luxury traveller increasingly seeking time, privacy, personalisation, wellbeing and fewer, but longer and higher-quality, trips.  -TradeArabia News Service