Virtuoso,the leading global network specialising in luxury and experiential travel, hosted its 2025 Continental Europe Forum this week at Mandarin Oriental Palace, Luzern. From 19-21 March, the Forum brought together over 90 attendees, including owners and managers from Virtuoso’s travel agency members across Continental Europe. Virtuoso reports that luxury travel sales will continue to grow globally.
Attendees had the opportunity to attend various presentations and professional development sessions, where they engaged in meaningful peer-to-peer conversations, and exchanged ideas and best practices on topics ranging from tailoring advisor skills for selling luxury travel to AI and more.
Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch took the stage at the event’s Opening Session and emphasised the importance of a concept that is foundational to Virtuoso: humanising the exceptional. Since 2010, our core purpose has been to enrich lives through human connection,
he said. Some may have thought it was just a slogan or feel-good sentiment, but it turned out to be our most defensible business model and the defining element of what Virtuoso advisors offer. Interacting with other people is not a desire, but a human need. Travel is a key vehicle for these interactions and exactly why the work of our advisors has never been more important.
The hottest destination on the rise in Europe, based on year-over-year sales for travel already booked for this June, July and August, is Slovenia (+473 percent). This spike comes after Virtuoso hosted its annual Chairman’s Event in Slovenia last year, showcasing the destination for its highest-performing travel agency members and demonstrating the direct influence that Virtuoso advisors have on increasing interest and tourism to certain destinations. Other places to watch this summer include Croatia (+356 percent), Malta (+108 percent), Montenegro (+24 percent) and Turkey (+272 percent).
Jennifer Campbell, Senior Vice President, Global Events, took the stage to share exciting program and product updates:
- Τhe recent launch of the new Social Media Content Centre, where members and advisors can augment and scale their own social media efforts. It provides tools for managing social media channels – now including Instagram and TikTok – within one dashboard. Key features include the choice of automated or customized posting and AI translation across eight different languages.
- Τhe success of the pilot Villas Spotlight consumer marketing campaign last November on Virtuoso.com, the network also launched a Suites Spotlight last month, per requests from the network, and a second Villas Spotlight showcasing a unique set of preferred partners debuted this month. Following the launch of Spotlights, Virtuoso.com saw an increase in both website visitor traffic and time spent on the site.
- Digital Destination Experiences which are designed to elevate the experience of Virtuoso.com by offering comprehensive and engaging platforms dedicated to specific locations around the globe. Digital Destination Experiences – which currently include Madrid, Australia, Canada, Greece, Croatia and Los Cabos – aim to captivate travellers with immersive and informative content.
This year, Virtuoso partner participation has already increased to 30 percent of the network’s preferred hotels, and Virtuoso data shows that those properties are seeing rising ADRs and an average increase in revenue of 50 percent.
