VIRTUOSO TRAVEL WEEK MARKS A NEW HIGH IN GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT AND STRATEGIC FOCUS, DRAWING TOP LUXURY TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS FROM 107 COUNTRIES (United States)
Virtuoso Travel Week, the premier event in luxury travel, is underway for the 37th year, bringing together over 4,800 of the industry's top professionals from 107 countries for a dynamic week of human connection, collaboration and innovation.
Taking place August 9-15 across Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Vdara Hotel & Spa, the annual gathering plays a strategic role in the sales cycle, helping attendees cultivate relationships, expand product knowledge across the network and lay the groundwork for future revenue growth.
Recognising the pivotal role Virtuoso Travel Week plays in driving the bottom line for its member agencies, travel advisors and preferred partners, Virtuoso continues to evolve the event format to maximise networking opportunities for attendees.
This year, those participating in networking will have over 40 percent more matched appointments than in 2024 – totalling over 100,000 meetings – allowing them to focus their efforts where they see the greatest opportunity for future business development. Tens of thousands of additional connections will also be made via assigned and self-selected appointments.
With multiple ways for attendees to engage across the network and with one another, these interactions ultimately foster valuable relationships that fuel the luxury travel business.
The weeklong programme started on Saturday, August 9, with a full day of Community Globetrotting sessions, which continued into Sunday.
These sessions explored passion-point travel categories reflecting Virtuoso Communities — cruise, adventure, family, culinary, wellness, ultraluxe and sustainability — in immersive settings. Globetrotting has proven its success in engaging participants and propelling sales, which is evident in the event’s high demand. Over 600 advisors and 120 partners participated this year.
Another highlight of the Virtuoso Week kick-off is the Travel Tech Summit. Led by tech entrepreneur, investor and Virtuoso board member, Gilad Berenstein, the fourth annual Summit focused on the latest developments in travel technology within the Virtuoso network. Virtuoso almost doubled the capacity of this year’s Tech Summit, attracting an audience of more than 500.
All attendees gathered for the official welcome at Sunday’s Opening Session where they heard from various Virtuoso executives, preferred partners and keynote speaker Will Guidara.
The event kicked off with Senior Vice President, Global Events Jennifer Campbell emphasising the value of in-person networking and the community found at Virtuoso Travel Week. Campbell highlighted the event’s multiple concurrent activities, such as professional development sessions and revived “speed-dating” to facilitate new connections — all of which allow attendees to personalise the week to best meet their needs. She also shared that, based on network feedback,
Virtuoso is adding 30 percent more events to its calendar next year for a total of 90 across the globe.
“Virtuoso Travel Week is no longer one event, but multiple events allowing attendees to plan how they spend their days,” said Campbell.
“We have agency executives who choose to have longer and more intentional meetings. We have top producers and veterans who may not sit at the networking tables but instead spend their time in more strategic conversations or mentoring their attending advisors. We have many who are in the midst of building their careers or are first-time attendees and do it all: Globetrotting, our award-winning professional development sessions, matched appointments and more. This week is about configuring their time to focus on what is most important to them.”
Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch also took the stage with an empowering presentation.
“We’ve always believed that human connection would be the key to sustained competitive advantage – not in opposition of technology, but in concert with it – especially in the hands of skilled Virtuosos,” he said.
“Virtuoso has been on a journey to dive deeper into what it means to humanise the exceptional that differentiates us from tech-only solutions. I’m proud of our growing and vibrant technology ecosystem – one that enhances rather than replaces human connection through solution providers and configurations that are as unique as the many ways our members and partners deliver value. I believe our futures depend on how we live in two rapidly changing ecosystems – technological and human – not just coexisting but actively blending and enhancing the two.” Upchurch continued,
“We’ve been investing in scaling human connection for nearly four decades because travel advisors don’t just sell experiences; they are part of the experience. The relationships our advisors nurture with our partners enhance the travellers’ experience, ultimately making them feel something special. The world is changing faster than ever, but what’s exciting is the head start we have in the human connection business – one that is global and a competitive advantage in luxury.”
Underscoring the importance of human connection, this year’s guest speaker, Will Guidara, former co-owner of the renowned Eleven Madison Park and best-selling author of Unreasonable Hospitality, spoke about how hospitality transcends service to create lasting, emotional experiences that are hard to replicate.
Executive Vice President David Kolner then presented key industry insights and trends, illustrating that luxury travel remains robust overall, while also acknowledging that “your mileage may vary” as different sectors see variances across markets. The network’s sales in the first half of 2025 are up 12 percent year-over-over, reflecting growth across all preferred partner categories and on pace for another record year.
Bookings for fall and festive travel this year prove to be solid, with bookings up 30 and 35 percent year-over-year, respectively.
The trend holds for future sales (travel booked for 2026 and 2027) too, which are 24 percent higher compared to the same timeframe last year.
Lastly, looking at proprietary research, Kolner revealed that millions of high-net-worth individuals have increased interest in using a travel advisor across all global markets, though generations have varying traits they seek in an advisor. Gen Z and Millennials want to work with someone who is not only ambitious but also tuned into cultural sensitivities; meanwhile Gen X and Boomers want an advisor who has attention to detail and is familiar with all the rules and regulations in travel.
Speaking to Virtuoso’s strategy to successfully operate worldwide, Senior Vice President, Global Operations Michael Londregan emphasised the network’s mission to achieve global consistency with regional relevance.
This is supported with the help of teams in nine markets globally to ensure alignment on business operations and to better serve members and partners located within the region, while also tailoring events, marketing and professional development to each region’s needs.
Virtuoso’s General Manager, USA Beth Butzlaff also described how her new role in growing the U.S. market involves strong collaboration with global teams to ensure the U.S. strategy resonates regionally while aligning with global excellence.
Lastly, Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships Cory Hagopian shared how Virtuoso’s global partnerships team has restructured to be more present and accessible globally, aiming to better understand local markets, foster deeper human connection and spend more time with partners to enhance engagement across regions; while Senior Vice President, Global Memberships Cheryl Bunker discussed the network’s active modernising of its membership standards to enhance advisor success.
Newly-appointed Senior Vice President, Global Products Helen McCabe-Young – formerly Senior Vice President, Global Marketing – provided exciting updates, including the celebration of Virtuoso, The Magazine’s 25th year, increased investment in global public relations and other content and tools for the network that are adaptable for each advisor and partner and their respective markets.
For example, the recently launched Social Media Content Centre has quickly become Virtuoso’s fastest adopted new platform. In a few short months, over 2,800 advisors have utilised it, collectively reaching an audience of nearly three million travellers.
Virtuoso Travel Week will continue through Friday, August 15, with news, trends, industry recognition and a showstopping gala Thursday evening, to be shared during the week.
About Virtuoso
Virtuoso is the leading global travel agency network specialising in luxury and experiential travel. This by-invitation-only organisation comprises over 1,200 travel agency locations with more than 20,000 travel advisors in 54 countries throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Drawing upon its preferred relationships with more than 2,300 of the world’s best hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines, tour companies and premier destinations, the network provides its upscale clientele with exclusive amenities, rare experiences and privileged access. Normalised annual sales of (U.S.) $28-$32 billion make Virtuoso a powerhouse in the luxury travel industry.
