Our changing landscape

Private aviation with us is fighting fit

High-end luxury travel suffered much less during the pandemic than mass-market travel. This was in part because some of the more prohibitive costs – such as pre- and post-travel PCR tests – are proportionally less challenging for the customers to absorb, but also because the nature of high-end luxury travel is less risky from a pandemic point of view. Flying in private aircraft reduces the risk of catching Covid-19 on a plane or in a busy airport terminal, while high-end luxury resorts tend to have lower capacity, meaning much more space per client. 

The volume of enquiries is certainly picking up. Obviously, we are not out of the woods yet; however, those who have splashed out on something more exclusive during the last couple of years may well have had their eyes opened to a new kind of travel – one that may mean they do not return to pre-pandemic travel habits easily.

The first consideration for any customer looking to travel now is ongoing restrictions around Covid-19: what are the entry requirements? What needs to be considered while at the destination? What must you do when you return? An oversight on any of these points can be very costly; therefore, customers want to involve an expert such as ACS that can guide them through what’s required and keep them informed. We talk customers through what they need to do thoroughly, we keep an eye on day-to-day changes in the run-up to their trip, we review what needs to be done within 72 hours of their flights and we keep them updated if requirements change while they are overseas. Peace of mind has become a real commodity.

The old favourites are still going strong, but bigger is better

In terms of our leisure customers, previously popular locations remain so: Turks and Caicos, St Barths and St Martin, the Grenadines in the Caribbean, the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, and the French Riviera, Mykonos and Sardinia during the European summer. We are seeing more demand for larger accommodation within high end hotels, though: for example, luxury multi-room villas at the likes of the Aman or Belmond Resorts in the Caribbean. Customers want to find a home away from home, while still enjoying the conveniences and service levels that one would expect in a world-class resort. 

When restrictions on travel to the US were lifted in November 2021, we saw a surge of our corporate customers returning – there was a lot of overdue business to be done by the time the UK was allowed in once again!

I am interested to see whether demand grows for Saudi Arabia, which has recently launched significant efforts to open its borders to the world and removed many of its previously restrictive conditions around entry. Their ‘See The Unseen’ tourism campaign has certainly caught the attention of UK travel agents and tour operators, and Saudi Arabia has invested a huge amount of money to create a new tourism landscape, primarily on the west coast. Given the success the UAE has had in attracting visitors in recent years, it will be interesting to see how this develops.

The pandemic has left its mark

In terms of customer behaviour, I don’t think people will take international travel for granted the way we were all probably guilty of doing before the pandemic began. A sustained period without being able to take holidays has reminded people of how important they are. I think we will see people prioritise experience over cost as they look to make the most of their time away. 

It will be interesting to see how the corporate travel market responds, as the last two years have seen vast improvements in virtual meeting technology. Have businesses looked twice at their spending on international travel? Or have the travel restrictions just emphasised that there is simply no substitute for doing business in person? Early signs are that people are looking to travel again for work, which is good news for a lot of agencies that rely on this market for their income. 

As for us here at ACS, we expect to see further growth in demand for our product range. With a growing number of global high-net-worth individuals, and more customers turning to private aviation or premium cabins on scheduled flights, we should see an increased number of people looking to engage with the high-end service that we can offer, and the amazing trips that we can put together.

To find out more about the one-of-a-kind trips ACS can arrange, please contact our team.

Image credit: Getty