The Virtuoso network unveiled, at its Travel Week 2026 in Las Vegas, a set of sharply accelerating sales figures for the luxury travel segment, with direct repercussions for high-end hospitality worldwide. According to data released by Misty Belles, Vice President of Global Public Relations for the group, network sales rose by 20.8% over the year, a pace that confirms the continued strength of the ultra-luxury segment despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
This annual gathering, dubbed by the trade press “travel’s Fashion Week,” brings together thousands of advisors and preferred partners each year – hotels, cruise lines, tour operators, tourist boards and airlines – around the major trends shaping high-end travel consumption.
Growth Consistent Across the Globe
Sales growth was recorded across all geographic regions covered by the network, with significant variation depending on travellers’ home markets. Mainland China recorded the strongest momentum, up 34.4%, followed by the UK and Ireland (+25.5%) and the Middle East and Africa (+24.0%). North American markets posted more moderate growth, at +21.3% for the United States and +13.4% for Canada.
By preferred-partner category, hotels led the way with 24.5% growth, ahead of cruises (22.4%), on-site activities (17.5%) and organised tours (11.0%). The average daily rate (ADR) of the network’s preferred hotels climbed steadily throughout the first half of the year, rising from roughly €1,408 in January to nearly €1,711 in June 2026.
Autumn Emerges as the New High Season
One of the most striking findings of this year’s event concerns the calendar shift in demand. Bookings and sales for the autumn period (September to mid-December) rose 69% in value and 59% in volume in the first half of 2026 compared with 2025, a pace well ahead of that seen for summer (+41%). This phenomenon, which Virtuoso describes as “fall is the new summer,” has been accompanied by a 7.4% rise in average European rates over the period, with particularly sharp peaks in certain destinations: the Greek Islands up 131%, the Côte d’Azur up 179% and Puglia up 78%.
The top five destinations favoured for autumn remain Paris, the Amalfi Coast, the Côte d’Azur, Tuscany and New York, while the United States, Italy, France, Mexico and Japan dominate the country rankings. This autumn momentum confirms an underlying trend already identified by Savills in its review of European hotel investment, which pointed to the outperformance of French and Italian resort destinations in terms of RevPAR.
An Ultra-Wealthy Clientele Driving Growth
Virtuoso attributes a significant share of this momentum to the continued expansion of the ultra-high-net-worth population. According to data cited by the group, more than 89 new people cross the $30 million (approximately €25.9 million) wealth threshold every day, a global population that has grown 29% since 2021. Bookings made one to two years in advance and exceeding $50,000 (approximately €43,000) rose 47% in 2026 compared with 2025, while those exceeding $100,000 (approximately €86,300) showed the same trajectory, up 49%.
This upmarket shift is reflected concretely in hotel offerings through the proliferation of “hotel within a hotel” concepts, such as the Club Floor at Four Seasons Maui or Heritage Place at Fairmont Mayakoba, as well as through the development of private clubs such as Aman New York, Casa Cipriani and the Metropolis Hotel & Club in Madrid. Advisors within the network report a 45% rise in requests for so-called “ultra-luxury” experiences.
On the mobility front, private aviation is also seeing strong growth, with Abu Dhabi-London flights up 238% and New York-Nantucket up 192%. The global private aviation market reached a record 3.9 million flights in 2025.
Wellness and Longevity Driving the Upmarket Shift
The wellness segment continues its underlying growth within the network, with production up 44% and ADR up 23%, a pace outstripping that of the network as a whole. Virtuoso identifies three distinct wellness traveller profiles: the performance seeker, focused on physical and cognitive optimisation; the restoration seeker, in search of recovery and disconnection; and the meaning seeker, more oriented towards a spiritual or communal dimension to their stay.
This segmentation echoes the five trends identified by EHL for hospitality in 2026, which had already flagged the rise of participatory experiences and the regenerative economy as differentiating levers for high-end establishments.
Responsible Travel and Carbon Transparency
The environmental dimension is also gaining ground as a selection criterion, with marked generational differences: 74% of Generation Z travellers and 71% of millennials say they favour sustainable choices, compared with 58% for Generation X and 51% for baby boomers. A third of luxury travellers surveyed worldwide cite a return to nature as their primary motivation for a trip, a proportion that is particularly high in mainland China, the Middle East, and North and Southeast Asia.
The concept of regenerative travel is now establishing itself as a tier above eco-responsibility, with brands such as Six Senses, &Beyond, Singita and Soneva having built their positioning around the active restoration of ecosystems rather than mere impact reduction, all while maintaining some of the highest rates in their category. Carbon transparency is also emerging as a growing expectation among the youngest ultra-wealthy clientele.
Artificial Intelligence: A Reference Tool, but Not a “Substitute for a Human Advisor”
The use of artificial intelligence is growing rapidly within the ecosystem: 74% of Virtuoso member advisors and 70% of preferred partners say they already use it in their work. The group nonetheless stresses the limitations of these tools for personalised trip planning, citing a duplication rate that can reach 50% in AI-generated recommendations, which it says contributes to a homogenisation of the travel offering and to overtourism at certain destinations.
According to a 2025 survey of luxury travellers, 79% said they were interested in using an advisor for their future trips, a proportion notably higher than the share of clients satisfied with recommendations obtained through other channels. Three out of four advisor-assisted travellers cite accommodation and destination expertise as the main benefit of human support, compared with fewer than one in two among travellers guided by other sources.
Survey Confirms Industry Optimism
An internal survey conducted in July 2026 among Virtuoso members reveals a high level of optimism regarding client budgets, cited by 73% of respondents as a source of confidence, followed by the booking pipeline (52%) and the financial health of their business (51%). The main drivers identified for increased travel spending are life transitions and personal milestones (71%), rising available wealth (54%) and the emergence of new luxury products (49%).
Multigenerational and family travel top the list of most sought-after trip types (69%), ahead of premium and luxury ocean cruising (63%) and milestone-celebration trips (60%). This data confirms the trend already observed by ALL Accor in its 2026 experiential travel report, which identified emotion and social connection as new drivers of destination choice, beyond geography alone.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
Virtuoso 2026: luxury travel sales accelerate globally
Network-wide sales up 20.8% year over year, led by Greater China (+34.4%) and hotel bookings (+24.5%)
Preferred hotel ADR climbed from roughly $1,632 in January to $1,983 in June 2026
Fall bookings (Sep-mid Dec) up 59% in volume and 69% in value versus 2025, outpacing summer growth
UHNW population growing 29% since 2021, with 1-2 year forward bookings above $50,000 up 47%
Wellness segment production up 44%, with ADR growth (23%) outpacing the overall network
79% of luxury travelers surveyed remain interested in using a professional advisor for future trips
