{"id":2784,"date":"2024-08-27T00:07:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T07:07:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2784"},"modified":"2024-08-27T02:09:24","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T09:09:24","slug":"virtuoso-travel-week-reveals-the-current-hot-spots-are-actually-cool-weather-destinations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/courses-and-travel\/2784\/virtuoso-travel-week-reveals-the-current-hot-spots-are-actually-cool-weather-destinations","title":{"rendered":"Virtuoso Travel Week Reveals the Current Hot Spots are Actually Cool Weather Destinations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"4,700<\/a>

4,700 travel industry attendees from over 90 countries gathered for Virtuoso Travel Week. Photo by Harrison Shiels<\/p><\/div>\n

The Las Vegas summer temperatures soared – like an Olympic pole-vaulter – over the 100-degree mark during 2024 Virtuoso Travel Week. The luxury travel network\u2019s unflappable executive Misty Belles revealed data on travel to the Paris Games and why vacation destinations in chillier climes are the new \u201chot spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cHeat waves in Western Europe sent travelers looking for \u2018cool-cations\u2019 in more mild-weather destinations such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada and Iceland,\u201d said Belles, Virtuoso Travel\u2019s vice-president of global public relations.<\/p>\n

The collective \u201cplanet\u201d journeyed to Travel Week, though, creating, in the interconnected, air-conditioned Aria, Bellagio and Vdara Hotels, a village of 4,700 Virtuoso travel advisors; hoteliers; cruise directors; CEO\u2019s and executives; and tourism board officials from 97 counties comparing notes and booking trips. Discerning travelers turn to the collective negotiating power of Virtuoso\u2019s collaborative travel network to enhance luxury planning and to book custom, exclusive itineraries.<\/p>\n

\u201cVirtuoso is the network for you if travel is important to you and you want to customize your trip with someone who specializes in you. Virtuoso\u2019s advisors provide advice, access, advocacy, accountability, value, time savings and trust,\u201d Belles explained.<\/p>\n

Belles, a regular on NBC\u2019s \u201cToday Show,\u201d pointed out the attitudes of travelers have evolved.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravel for \u2018self-care\u2019 has evolved to booking trips out of \u2018self-preservation.\u2019 It is more urgent. There is so much flying at us so quickly these days, so take time to make sure you are worrying about yourself, too. It may be a \u2018silver bullet wellness\u2019 concept such as specialized sleep programs at a spa resort. How do I improve my rest? How do I meditate? Or change my diet?\u201d<\/p>\n

Belles is glad the post-pandemic phrase \u201crevenge travel\u201d has evolved to the more joyful \u201crevelry travel.\u201d \u201cFun, joy, awe, and wonder are how you want to feel when you travel. And people who formerly embraced travelling \u2018at any cost\u2019 now travel \u2018at all costs.\u2019 The \u2018bucket list\u2019 has become the \u2018F-it List,\u2019\u201d said Belles of the duplicitous rhyming phrases. \u201cIt\u2019s the old \u2018just do it\u2019 mentality. How do you want to live and celebrate your life and feel alive? Is it bungy jumping in New Zealand? Is it attending a Formula One race? Is it flying to a Taylor Swift concert or the Olympics? It’s passion-led travel: living in the moment and celebrating your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virtuoso survey data revealed \u201ccuriosity and exploration\u201d as an emotional driver of how travelers want to feel, which determines what they want to do. When a traveler shares how they want to feel, a Virtuoso advisor designs an experience.<\/p>\n

Gen Z and millennials are outpacing the older generation and significantly increasing travel, according to Virtuoso\u2019s data. \u201cThey are twice as likely to seek an adrenaline rush and are prioritizing ultra-luxe hotels, business class seats and luxury cruising,\u201d Belles said.<\/p>\n

Allora\u2026andiamo! What are the largest growth areas for travel this fall? The decidedly cooler Canada is hot: up 168%, with Japan not far behind. Visits to St. Barths are up 155%. Globally, the top countries for fall travel are the USA, Italy, France, Mexico and the United Kingdom \u2013 a ranking matched almost exactly by U.S. travelers. Greater China is also getting a lot of visitors this fall.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for (relative) value, Virtuoso reports the prices in Toarmina, Sicily (home of \u201cThe Godfather\u201d and HBO\u2019s \u201cWhite Lotus,\u201d are down 22%. Napa, California is uncorking wine country visits at 19% less; and Amsterdam\u2019s rates are down 11%. The price of visiting the Aloha State is down 8%.<\/p>\n

Costs have risen for holiday travel to the Caribbean; Mexico and Morocco.<\/p>\n

Slovenia, Portugal and Croatia, Montenegro and Guatemala are alternate, less crowded destinations.<\/p>\n

In between Virtuoso\u2019s rousing receptions, posh presentations, many meetings and international networking, some odds-and-ends statistics spilled out, such as the stat that a U.S. election-year doesn\u2019t decrease travel, but chops growth by 10-percent. And while a woman is running for president, plenty of \u201cwander women\u201d are on the move, too: 71-percent of solo travelers are women, with 47-percent of them divorced or separated. Nothing is stopping them, or Virtuoso travelers, from their \u201cF-it List!\u2019<\/p>\n

Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0<\/em>MShiels@aol.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0His new book: Travel Tattler \u2013 Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via\u00a0Amazon.com\u00a0Hear his radio talk show on WJIM\u00a0AM 1240\u00a0in Lansing weekdays\u00a0from 9 am \u2013 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Las Vegas summer temperatures soared – like an Olympic pole-vaulter – over the 100-degree mark during 2024 Virtuoso Travel… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1044564],"class_list":["post-2784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courses-and-travel","tag-michael-shiels"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2024\/08\/Virtuoso-Week.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2784"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2787,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784\/revisions\/2787"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}