With luxury travellers slowing the pace of their holidays, many are spending more time in cities like Tokyo to immerse themselves in the culture and cuisine.Jezebel Melgoza
Japan draws millions of visitors each year to its enchanting temples, curated boutiques and elegant restaurants. The landscape is also varied and breathtaking: There are bustling city centres with secret coffee shops, and remote mountain escapes that provide a refuge from the urban din. Canadians have long favoured the Asian country as a travel destination. But where previous trips might have been jam-packed 10-day whirlwinds, today travellers are slowing down. “We’ve got clients in Japan right now spending a whole week just in Tokyo,” says Wendy Davis, owner and luxury travel adviser at Zebrano Travel, a travel agency based in Toronto.
High-end travellers are taking their time and stretching their stays. If time is the greatest luxury, rather than scatter travel throughout the year with close-to-home trips, they are immersing themselves in a destination for longer. This not only creates a deeper connection to the place they’re visiting but creates opportunities to elevate the trip – like upgrading to larger accommodations and bringing in staff to maximize time.
At the same time, luxury travellers are booking trips further out. A Virtuoso study conducted by YouGov found that the average booking window increased by 14 per cent between 2022 and 2023, with holidays being planned 105 days in advance of a trip. They’re doing this to create “whole, immersive opportunities,” says Una O’Leary, general manager of Canada for global luxury travel agency Virtuoso. “Which is why the length of stays are a little bit longer.” She notes that Virtuoso travellers average 12 nights away compared with eight for non-Virtuoso clients.
Part of the allure of booking longer trips further in advance? More time to plan evermore elaborate trips. Besides Japan, Canadian travellers are flocking to Costa Rica at a rate more than twice the global average, says O’Leary. The country’s pristine beaches, surf lessons and zip lines transcend age, making it an ideal destination for family and adventure travel. Portugal, Iceland and Croatia are also among the top five destinations for luxury travellers.
Costa Rica’s diverse offering of adventure and nature-based activities makes it a prime destination for multigenerational family vacations.Fabio Fistarol
Longer stays afford greater flexibility and comfort. Travellers can luxuriate in their surroundings and go at their own pace without the pressure of box-ticking a city’s greatest hits. “I really am not an advocate for filling every nook and cranny of the itinerary with a tour,” says Davis, who says unplanned days allow for deeper immersion and encourage exploration. Of her clients touring Japan for an extended period, she notes that they’re not rushing. “That’s the new luxury of what people are looking to experience,” she says.
Extended trips may also require more spacious accommodation, especially as multigenerational travel remains popular. To that end, Davis says, “the villa market is exploding.” For example, families are renting five-bedroom villas in Italy with separate spaces for cocktail hour and relaxing. For some, this creates an opportunity to interact with locals in a new way. “The chef comes in and they all make the pasta together,” says Davis of a hypothetical scenario. “It’s this melding of comfort and flexibility and authenticity – you can do all of it.” Similarly, branded residences managed by hotel groups like Marriott are also proving popular. “This is not Airbnb and VRBO,” Davis clarifies, but “vetted, property-managed villas.”
Davis recently visited the Montage Residences Healdsburg in California’s wine country. As part of her services, she books these privately owned homes that are managed by the hotel. Such accommodations offer the best of both worlds: round-the-clock hotel service and amenities with the ease and comforts of a luxury home, including a full kitchen, e-bike rentals and the option to bring in a private chef. “It’s that villa concept of going to one place and settling in and really enjoying yourself,” says Davis. “Almost like a local.”
Affluent globetrotters are also taking to the sea. O’Leary says travellers are planning two-week cruises along the Danube River, the Mekong River and the Nile. Smaller vessels are more intimate, less crowded and encourage authentic engagement with the local surroundings. “It really is the choice of the traveller, how they wish to immerse themselves into the culture where they are,” says O’Leary.
The appetite for travel is still roaring, but luxury travellers are swapping their bucket-list holidays filled with daily expeditions for longer, leisurely vacations where fewer plans leads to fuller experiences.