Here’s a round-up of luxury travel stories that have caught the eye this week. To make sure you receive these new weekly alerts in your web browser, please click on the red bell icon in the bottom right hand corner of the page and click ‘subscribe’ (works on desktop only – for other ways to subscribe, please click here). This will also alert you to any other posts on the blog. Should you wish, you can unsubscribe at any time, by clicking on the icon again and selecting ‘unsubscribe’.
Luxury trips are becoming popular among millennials
After Baby Generation and Boomers X, Millennials will be the next big key market and the biggest generation for international travel. Born between 1980 and 2000, they’re technology-savvy, educated and raised with internet and digital communication. Millennials love going on city trips, and are prepared to spend big on travelling, with 1 in 2 of all luxury trips being created by millennials now. These are the findings of The Global World Travel Monitor… [read more]
Around the world in 245 days on the Ultimate World Cruise
Many of us dream about packing it all in to head off a globetrotting adventure but frankly, the backpacking lifestyle isn’t for everyone. But forget grimy hostels, questionable street food and overnight bus journeys – imagine seeing the world from a luxury cruise ship on a one-of-a-kind “gap year”. The Ultimate World Cruise, run by cruise line Viking, promises just that. On 31 August 2019, up to 930 guests will board the Viking Sun at Port London Greenwich for an epic odyssey lasting the better part of a year… [read more]
Inside Madrid’s newest luxury hotel: The Gran Hotel Inglés
Madrid’s newest luxury hotel is actually one of the city’s oldest. The Gran Hotel Inglés originally opened in December 1886 and was unique in the city for having an elevator, a bathroom on each floor, modern lighting and steam heating. Thanks to those amenities, the hotel was a favorite of illustrious authors, artists and, yes, bullfighters. These days, travelers can find more modern creature comforts, but the same spirit of luxury living on in this historic property… [read more]
The Peninsula Hong Kong sets sail with launch of luxury yacht
First, it brought a fleet of 14 Peninsula Green Rolls-Royce Phantoms to the streets of Hong Kong. Then it took to the skies with a customised helicopter. Now The Peninsula Hong Kong has decided to conquer the seas by launching a brand new yacht, making it the first luxury hotel group in the city to offer three different forms of transport for its guests… [read more]
Another European airline has gone bust – so who’s next?
More airlines are likely to succumb to the same fate as Cobalt Air this winter, leaving holidaymakers stranded, as carriers feel the pinch of rising oil prices and competitive fare pricing. This is the warning from aviation expert John Strickland in the wake of the collapse of another airline, after the Cypriot operator suspended all its services with immediate effect… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxury Travel Blog and has worked in the travel industry for more than 30 years. He is Winner of the Innovations in Travel ‘Best Travel Influencer’ Award from WIRED magazine. In addition to other awards, the blog has also been voted “one of the world’s best travel blogs” and “best for luxury” by The Daily Telegraph.
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14 Comments
Yes, millennials love their travel. I think they use the technology to discover the possibilities. They set up their phones for alerts on special offers.
London City Airport is always packed late Friday afternoon with Millennials jetting away for the weekend, as the piece says they like cities. Gatwick is packed early Saturday morning too, the queues for coffee are phenomenal.
I think millennials are now tending to have more commonly (I’m generalising, of course) reached a certain level of affluence. If you were born in 1980 – the earliest age for millennials – you’re already fast approaching 40 now, and so have most likely been working a good number of years and are more likely to be in a position to afford to be able to travel in luxury.
And a lot millennials gravitate towards the big cities do. That makes it easier to do a short city break from Birmingham, London, Manchester airports etc
I bet that a 245 day World Cruise will be a life-changing event for many. Some will fall in love and sadly some will fall out of love. Inevitably some of the passengers will make new friendships which will last for a lifetime.
Although it is 9 months it will still just be a taster. When they go ashore they will discover new pieces that they will want to return to in the future.
The great thing about cruises is that there’s such a great range of activities on aboard that the cruisers will discover new hobbies and new passions.
Imagine if you didn’t find friendships amongst your fellow passengers, though… 245 days is a long time to be on a cruise if you’re not with like-minded people!
If you can’t get on with people on a World Cruise when will you get on with them? Great food, top quality wines, stimulating activities, thought-provoking ports-of-call, beautiful sea sunsets – you’re not going to get a more supportive environment for friendship than a World Cruise.
I just don’t see it as a ‘given’. And if you sign up for 245 days on board with a load of people that you don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with, then that is an awful long time to endure in relatively confined circumstances.
As readers will become aware from another post I share soon, I was airborne on a Cobalt flight from Manchester to Larnaca when news broke of the airline’s unfortunate collapse. In fact, I was actually working for the airline. I need to check but I think it was their second last flight that we were on, with the last one also landing at Larnaca from Heathrow just a little later. We only learnt about it by chance some days later, though, and then it was a case of frantically trying to find flights to get home. More on that in a later blog post, though!
That must have been incredibly stressful. Many of the passengers on that plane would have been on a half-term family holiday to Cyprus.
Imagine the anxiety of knowing that as soon as you landed that your priority was to book some flights home. With all that added demand I expect prices rocketed too.
You and all those passengers have my sympathy.
Well, the funny thing was that we were blissfully oblivious. There was no mention of it on the flight, no chatter around the baggage carousel… nothing. I genuinely don’t think anyone was aware (staff aside, possibly). We only found out – completely by chance (as we were not paying much attention to the news) some days later – some days later. Had it not been for this, we could easily have been returning to Paphos a week later, only to find there was no airline. Instead, we managed to get back on two different rescue flights (there was five of us and we couldn’t all get on one flight) from a different airport. As I say, I’ll be writing a blog post about it in the coming days, so watch this space…
As for sympathy for passengers, yes… but also let’s not forget all the airline employees who were suddenly without work. From what I can understand, this was a genuine shock and surprise to all.
One thing that I’ve noticed on my travels is the millennials’ love of a holiday to say farewell to a life stage. The Stag Night and Hen Night has become a Stag Long-Werkend or Hen Weekend with everyone flying to a city or island.
The Sten-Do evolved out of that. A civilised cross between Stag and Hen nights. Maybe hiring a villa for 4 or 5 days in Spain or Italy. Then after the marriage there’s the last big exotic holiday before becoming parents. Yet their back at the airport, with pushchair, far sooner than they had imagined.
As a spokesperson for the Millenals I’d like to think that we are a bit more connected and want to get out there and see our world. Sadly bits of it will disappear and showing our interest may help with conservation.
I still dream of being able to travel around the world but don’t even know how to begin doing that. Having to take a leave of absence for any length of time from a growing business is hard. I envy those who’d be able to join that Ultimate World Cruise. 59 countries wow! I imagine not having to worry about where to sleep or where to go next. It’s going to be a blast, I’m sure.
I think the fact that millennials prefer to spend more on experiences rather than “things”, including a house and car, is the reason they travel more. And with access to information at your fingertips, it’s easy to find the allure of other places in the world.
Luxury trips are becoming popular among millennials
After Baby Generation and Boomers X, Millennials will be the next big key market and the biggest generation for international travel. Born between 1980 and 2000, they’re technology-savvy, educated and raised with internet and digital communication. Millennials love going on city trips, and are prepared to spend big on travelling, with 1 in 2 of all luxury trips being created by millennials now. These are the findings of The Global World Travel Monitor… [read more]
Luxury trips are becoming popular among millennials
After Baby Generation and Boomers X, Millennials will be the next big key market and the biggest generation for international travel. Born between 1980 and 2000, they’re technology-savvy, educated and raised with internet and digital communication. Millennials love going on city trips, and are prepared to spend big on travelling, with 1 in 2 of all luxury trips being created by millennials now. These are the findings of The Global World Travel Monitor… [read more]
Around the world in 245 days on the Ultimate World Cruise
Many of us dream about packing it all in to head off a globetrotting adventure but frankly, the backpacking lifestyle isn’t for everyone. But forget grimy hostels, questionable street food and overnight bus journeys – imagine seeing the world from a luxury cruise ship on a one-of-a-kind “gap year”. The Ultimate World Cruise, run by cruise line Viking, promises just that. On 31 August 2019, up to 930 guests will board the Viking Sun at Port London Greenwich for an epic odyssey lasting the better part of a year… [read more]
Inside Madrid’s newest luxury hotel: The Gran Hotel Inglés
Madrid’s newest luxury hotel is actually one of the city’s oldest. The Gran Hotel Inglés originally opened in December 1886 and was unique in the city for having an elevator, a bathroom on each floor, modern lighting and steam heating. Thanks to those amenities, the hotel was a favorite of illustrious authors, artists and, yes, bullfighters. These days, travelers can find more modern creature comforts, but the same spirit of luxury living on in this historic property… [read more]
The Peninsula Hong Kong sets sail with launch of luxury yacht
First, it brought a fleet of 14 Peninsula Green Rolls-Royce Phantoms to the streets of Hong Kong. Then it took to the skies with a customised helicopter. Now The Peninsula Hong Kong has decided to conquer the seas by launching a brand new yacht, making it the first luxury hotel group in the city to offer three different forms of transport for its guests… [read more]
Another European airline has gone bust – so who’s next?
More airlines are likely to succumb to the same fate as Cobalt Air this winter, leaving holidaymakers stranded, as carriers feel the pinch of rising oil prices and competitive fare pricing. This is the warning from aviation expert John Strickland in the wake of the collapse of another airline, after the Cypriot operator suspended all its services with immediate effect… [read more]
We really enjoy hearing from our readers and would love to hear your views on any of these stories! Please click on the comments below and share your thoughts. Thank you.
Yes, millennials love their travel. I think they use the technology to discover the possibilities. They set up their phones for alerts on special offers.
London City Airport is always packed late Friday afternoon with Millennials jetting away for the weekend, as the piece says they like cities. Gatwick is packed early Saturday morning too, the queues for coffee are phenomenal.
I think millennials are now tending to have more commonly (I’m generalising, of course) reached a certain level of affluence. If you were born in 1980 – the earliest age for millennials – you’re already fast approaching 40 now, and so have most likely been working a good number of years and are more likely to be in a position to afford to be able to travel in luxury.
And a lot millennials gravitate towards the big cities do. That makes it easier to do a short city break from Birmingham, London, Manchester airports etc
I bet that a 245 day World Cruise will be a life-changing event for many. Some will fall in love and sadly some will fall out of love. Inevitably some of the passengers will make new friendships which will last for a lifetime.
Although it is 9 months it will still just be a taster. When they go ashore they will discover new pieces that they will want to return to in the future.
The great thing about cruises is that there’s such a great range of activities on aboard that the cruisers will discover new hobbies and new passions.
Imagine if you didn’t find friendships amongst your fellow passengers, though… 245 days is a long time to be on a cruise if you’re not with like-minded people!
If you can’t get on with people on a World Cruise when will you get on with them? Great food, top quality wines, stimulating activities, thought-provoking ports-of-call, beautiful sea sunsets – you’re not going to get a more supportive environment for friendship than a World Cruise.
I just don’t see it as a ‘given’. And if you sign up for 245 days on board with a load of people that you don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with, then that is an awful long time to endure in relatively confined circumstances.
As readers will become aware from another post I share soon, I was airborne on a Cobalt flight from Manchester to Larnaca when news broke of the airline’s unfortunate collapse. In fact, I was actually working for the airline. I need to check but I think it was their second last flight that we were on, with the last one also landing at Larnaca from Heathrow just a little later. We only learnt about it by chance some days later, though, and then it was a case of frantically trying to find flights to get home. More on that in a later blog post, though!
That must have been incredibly stressful. Many of the passengers on that plane would have been on a half-term family holiday to Cyprus.
Imagine the anxiety of knowing that as soon as you landed that your priority was to book some flights home. With all that added demand I expect prices rocketed too.
You and all those passengers have my sympathy.
Well, the funny thing was that we were blissfully oblivious. There was no mention of it on the flight, no chatter around the baggage carousel… nothing. I genuinely don’t think anyone was aware (staff aside, possibly). We only found out – completely by chance (as we were not paying much attention to the news) some days later – some days later. Had it not been for this, we could easily have been returning to Paphos a week later, only to find there was no airline. Instead, we managed to get back on two different rescue flights (there was five of us and we couldn’t all get on one flight) from a different airport. As I say, I’ll be writing a blog post about it in the coming days, so watch this space…
As for sympathy for passengers, yes… but also let’s not forget all the airline employees who were suddenly without work. From what I can understand, this was a genuine shock and surprise to all.
One thing that I’ve noticed on my travels is the millennials’ love of a holiday to say farewell to a life stage. The Stag Night and Hen Night has become a Stag Long-Werkend or Hen Weekend with everyone flying to a city or island.
The Sten-Do evolved out of that. A civilised cross between Stag and Hen nights. Maybe hiring a villa for 4 or 5 days in Spain or Italy. Then after the marriage there’s the last big exotic holiday before becoming parents. Yet their back at the airport, with pushchair, far sooner than they had imagined.
As a spokesperson for the Millenals I’d like to think that we are a bit more connected and want to get out there and see our world. Sadly bits of it will disappear and showing our interest may help with conservation.
I still dream of being able to travel around the world but don’t even know how to begin doing that. Having to take a leave of absence for any length of time from a growing business is hard. I envy those who’d be able to join that Ultimate World Cruise. 59 countries wow! I imagine not having to worry about where to sleep or where to go next. It’s going to be a blast, I’m sure.
I think the fact that millennials prefer to spend more on experiences rather than “things”, including a house and car, is the reason they travel more. And with access to information at your fingertips, it’s easy to find the allure of other places in the world.