2018 Virtuoso Luxe Report – Australian Edition

Published on : Friday, December 1, 2017

The results are in from Virtuoso, the world’s leading network of luxury travel experts, revealing the top trends, destinations and motivations for upscale Australian travellers as we head towards a new year, with ‘ticking items off the bucket-list’ the No.1 motivation for people travelling in 2018.

Following on from recently released global data, Virtuoso’s 2018 Luxe Report – Australian Edition puts Japan at the top of the list of emerging destinations for the coming year, followed by Iceland and Portugal.

With global results revealing Australia is high on the list of most desirable destinations, trends revealed in the 2018 Virtuoso Luxe Report – Australian Edition include:

We love America, with the US ranking as the second most popular global destination for Australians. Despite the distance, our favourite US city is the Big Apple, while Hawaii’s islands are another popular drawcard.
Japan and Sri Lanka made both the emerging destinations and most popular lists, while the cooler ports of Iceland and Norway also stand out as emerging destinations for Australians in 2018.
Young Australians are heading to Europe and Asia, with Greece and Croatia sharing the top ranking for Millennials, followed by Vietnam and Bali, both in second place.
Seeking Southern Hemisphere adventure with Antarctica the top adventure destination, followed by New Zealand, the Galapagos, South Africa and Peru, all made the “top 5” list.

“Australians always have a robust bucket list and start each year ready to explore the world. This year it seems that many are drilling down the list beyond the perennial favourites to exotic cultures and natural wonders,” Virtuoso Asia Pacific Managing Director, Michael Londregan said.

“It’s clear that 2018 will be a year of exploration and immersion. Perhaps it’s the geopolitical climate, but there is no doubting the trend for destinations that were once warm, are now hot.

“The reality is that many of the favourite destinations have limited capacity so travellers are advised to plan early. Only 44,000 people a year get to explore Antarctica, so when it becomes vogue, demand exceeds supply.

“Making people’s bucket-list dreams a reality is exactly the kind of travel Virtuoso’s advisors are experts in delivering and it’s easy to locate a seasoned advisor on Virtuoso.com.”

Key findings from the 2018 Virtuoso Luxe Report – Australian Edition:

Emerging destinations

Japan
Iceland
Portugal/Cuba (tie)
Sri Lanka
Norway