Virtuoso assembles the world’s leading luxury travel professionals from over 90 countries for its 36th annual Virtuoso Travel Week

Luxury travel’s most significant event of the year is in full swing as Virtuoso®, bespoke experiences, welcomes an audience of more than 4,700 top professionals from 97 countries to its 36th annual Virtuoso Travel Week. Renowned for its leadership position within the industry, Virtuoso is hosting some of the biggest and best-known brands in luxury and experiential travel August 10th – 16th at Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and Vdara Hotel & Spa. Representatives from nearly 2,000 companies will engage in matched morning networking tracks and self-selected afternoon appointments – over 75,000 of them in total – designed to establish and strengthen relationships, increase knowledge and drive sales.

Knowing Virtuoso Travel Week factors significantly into the sales strategy for its member agencies, travel advisers and preferred partners, Virtuoso has established multiple ways for attendees to engage across the network with one another, leading to meaningful connections that benefit both the luxury traveller and the luxury leisure business. The weeklong program started on Saturday, August 10, with a full day of Globetrotting sessions, which continued into Sunday. More than 1,000 Virtuoso advisers were able to select Virtuoso Communities around key interests and participate in a series of fun and interactive presentations by Virtuoso partners. These sessions explored passion-point travel categories — cruise, adventure, family, culinary, wellness, ultra-luxe and sustainability — each designed to boost expertise and propel sales.

Saturday also included Virtuoso’s third annual Tech Summit, led by tech entrepreneur, investor and Virtuoso board member, Gilad Berenstein. The Summit focused on leveraging smart technology to enhance human connection, featuring panels on key trends, including AI, and a Startup Showcase with 15 tech businesses, providing a deep dive into emerging innovations. Sunday morning was dedicated to expanding knowledge, with a full roster of professional development courses that covered everything from how to scale a business and cultivate stronger bonds with staff and clients, to growing a business by engaging with diverse communities and learning to serve accessible travel.

Senior Vice President of Network Products & Events Jennifer Campbell kicked off Sunday’s Opening Session by emphasising the network’s strong sense of community and collective voice, showcased by the event’s global turnout. She remarked, “Our varied backgrounds, business models and offerings allow us to deliver the ‘right’ experiences, backed by authentic relationships, to a richly diverse group of affluent travellers around the world.”

The Opening Session saw Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch take the stage alongside special guest and close friend of the network, Simon Sinek, founder of The Optimism Company and renowned author, speaker and host of the top-rated podcast A Bit of Optimism. Returning to Virtuoso Travel Week for a fourth time, Sinek joined Upchurch for an exchange of impactful ideas and advice on leadership and purpose-led business development.

Upchurch continued with an empowering keynote presentation signalling a central message that synergistically building communities leads to strategic growth and increased ROI (Return on Investment). That community enables the network to grow while strengthening both personalisation and customer satisfaction. An innovation such as AI is a tool that can be used strategically to automate the predictable while humanising the exceptional, qualities such as trust and empathy that AI cannot replicate.

“Advisers are the direct link between consumers and their experiences. Their intelligence, skill and powerful relationships have enabled them to thrive despite challenges,” said Upchurch. “While some in the financial sector may view them as ‘intermediaries,’ advisers are essential to a successful direct-to-consumer sales strategy, especially as the luxury market grows and diversifies, along with the Virtuoso network.”

During the Opening Session, Executive Vice President David Kolner presented key industry insights observed by Virtuoso, illustrating that travel remains a vital part of life in an ever-changing world. Year-to-date sales have surpassed those of 2023 for the same January-June timeframe by 14 percent and skyrocketed 211 percent over 2019, with future 2025-2026 sales already up 38 percent over last year. The Virtuoso Pulse Survey reflects this positive outlook, revealing that 78 percent of Virtuoso agencies and 70 percent of preferred partners remain optimistic about their own businesses. Additionally, 80 percent of Virtuoso agencies and 77 percent of partners report feeling somewhat or extremely fulfilled with their work-life balance.

Virtuoso Senior Vice President, Marketing, Helen McCabe-Young, next explored Virtuoso’s consumer strategy and its continued focus on attracting high-value travellers to its network with a collective focus on shared growth for members, advisers and partners. The successful “So Virtuoso” global campaign, among several new initiatives like destination digital experiences, continue to gain momentum and inspire travellers to actively seek out Virtuoso advisers for extraordinary experiences with luxury travel partners. She also noted, “It’s not just about tools and tech, but it’s the trusted relationships that are our secret sauce.” When everything comes together all at once, the momentum is unstoppable.

Senior Vice President of Global Member & Partner Sales, Cory Hagopian, rounded out the program by highlighting Virtuoso’s overarching commitment to excellence and its efforts to better understand and address the diverse needs of its network. He outlined the expansion of Virtuoso’s global presence adding dedicated regional teams in Continental Europe, UK/Ireland; Northeast and Southeast Asia, Greater China; and the Middle East and Africa. This year, Virtuoso has introduced enhanced hotel amenities, including higher commissions and guaranteed early check-in or late check-out at booking. The network has expanded with 109 new partners—71 hotels, 26 tour and on-site partners, 8 alliances and 4 cruise lines. On the member side, 18 new members have joined, expanding Virtuoso’s presence to 58 countries—four more than last year. Most notably, preferred partner revenue has grown by 15 percent year-over-year, even with just a 5 percent increase in new partners.

Virtuoso Travel Week will continue through Friday, August 16, with news, trends and industry recognition, all concluding with a showstopping gala Thursday evening, to be shared during the week. Follow Virtuoso Travel Week’s happenings in real-time via the network’s social media channels: @VirtuosoLtd on Instagram and Virtuoso Travel on Facebook and LinkedIn.