Comment: New forms of luxury are moving towards meaningful, immersive experiences

There is now undeniable optimism in the luxury travel industry, in the wake of 20 very challenging months, thanks to the renewed appetite for travel and a desire to discover new experiences and locations. Expedia Group’s Traveller Value Index study revealed that 75% of travellers are likely to choose a new destination or experience, while the Global Travel Trends Report from American Express Travel earlier this year found that 61 % of travellers planned to spend more in 2021 than they would normally, following recent travel restrictions.

The disruption caused by Covid has begun to erode travel loyalty, presenting new brands with an opportunity to enter the industry and capture market share. We have noticed this ourselves in the overwhelming response from travel advisors following the opening of sales for inaugural journeys on our first ship, Explora I.

Our vision to enter the luxury market was clear long before the pandemic, but we have used this time to adapt accordingly, and to strive for the sense of discovery that will allow guests to experience what we call the "ocean state of mind". 

We have also seen that continued uncertainty around the reopening of travel has driven a rise in bookings via travel advisors, so we geared our launch to include a ’by appointment’ service, designed to foster strong partnerships with frontline travel sellers. That has meant investing heavily in research, surveys, focus groups, consumer intelligence and supporting technologies to ensure a customer­centric approach that underscores our commitment to the trade.

We have our first two ships, Explora I and Explora II, under construction and scheduled to set sail in 2023 and 2024 respectively, with two further ships joining the fleet in 2025 and 2026. From our investment in research - extending to more than 20,000 potential guests throughout the US, western Europe, Japan and China we know our future customers are looking for slower, deeper travel.

In contrast to an old-fashioned approach to luxury that focused on abundance, new forms of luxury are moving away from the materialistic world towards meaningful, immersive experiences. This underpins our work with a team of international experts to develop onboard and onshore experiences that will capture that new generation of luxury travellers.