“As southern Europe grapples with intense summer heatwaves, luxury travellers will increasingly seek refuge in the Nordic regions, drawn by cooler weather and growing concerns about climate change,” predicts Rebecca Masri, founder of global travel members’ club app Little Emperors. Premium travel agents report an 82% worldwide rise in luxury holiday bookings for destinations with more moderate weather conditions.

Monied consumers represent a sizeable segment of the post-pandemic digital nomad movement (see Key Stats), giving rise to multiple travel and hospitality start-ups catering for these agile, prosperous communities: think co-working venues with superior amenities and stylish short-term serviced apartments.

With the glamping trend showing no sign of slowing down – tellingly, global accommodation booking company Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has recently added the first outdoor hospitality brand, Under Canvas, to its portfolio of prestige properties – operators are organising ever-more ambitious, far-flung fly-camping adventures to impress HNWIs.

“Affluents really want to get under the skin of new cultures through ever-more-immersive experiences – the new luxury,” says Abercrombie & Kent’s founder Geoffrey Kent. This curiosity is inspiring new Indigenous travel offerings from high-end hotels and tour operators, whether it’s integrating ancestral healing into wellness retreats or Native cuisine getting the fine-dining treatment.

Shrewd brands are helping wealthy travellers mark milestones and reconnect with loved ones through highly personalised multigenerational trips – often by interweaving family heritage or learning new skills together. Demand for family travel in 2024 is up 63% year-on-year, according to luxury agent network Global Travel Collection. Also, see Fun Family Leisure Trends.

The next wave of opulent train journeys is delivering a win-win combination of nostalgic glamour and guilt-free low-carbon transport for elite consumers, as discussed in The Brief. From French hospitality group Accor, the much-anticipated Orient Express La Dolce Vita will be the flagship locomotive in Italy’s new tourist-train network.