The Evolution of Luxury Travel: 5 Trends Defining the Future of Trade Partnerships

Key Insights from Internova PLUS 2025 Think Tanks

 

NEW YORK (February 18, 2025) – The landscape of luxury travel is undergoing a significant transformation, shaped by the increasing demand for exclusivity, personalization and unparalleled experiences. Internova Travel Group, one of the largest travel services in the world, remains at the forefront of this shift. Its annual Internova PLUS event kicked off 2025 by bringing together industry power brokers at the Vinoy Resort and Spa in St Petersburg, Florida.  

 

To attend Internova PLUS, travel provider partners must send high-level representation from their leadership team, including owners, general managers and C-Suite executives. In turn, Internova vets advisors with a rigorous application process and verified production, which is more than five times the industry standard. As a result, Internova PLUS has the highest concentration of partner executives and top producers of any leisure luxury event in the industry. 

 

At the event, these travel elite came together for a series of Think Tank sessions where they tackled industry challenges with thought exercises designed to co-create richer future partnerships. Five key insights emerged from the 28 individual sessions.  

 

The Future of Collaboration: Data-Driven, In-Person Connections 

 

As emphasized at Internova PLUS 2025, the future of luxury travel collaboration lies in precise, data-driven matchmaking between advisors and travel partners. Leveraging its advanced transactional data analytics, Internova ensures that the right people are in the right rooms, leading to more effective, high-value partnerships. 

 

Additionally, there is growing recognition that luxury sellers beyond major metropolitan areas play an increasingly critical role in the industry. Expanding relationships with travel advisors outside of key hubs like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago is a worthy investment for luxury travel providers. 

  

Marketing that Rises Above a Sea of Sameness 

 

Luxury travel advisors receive hundreds of partner emails daily, making it difficult to cut through the noise. AI and machine learning now play a pivotal role in helping advisors prioritize content, filter offers and identify the most relevant opportunities for their clients.  

Top takeaways on how to stand out:  

• Personalization is paramount: Mass emails are often automatically deleted based on email platform settings, so direct communication is much preferred.

• Update to stay up-to-date: Maintaining buyer profiles with accurate specialties and geographical data helps ensure advisors receive relevant invitations and offers.

• Embrace artificial intelligence: AI can streamline supplier-advisor communications, ensuring a higher level of efficiency in luxury travel planning.

  

Relationship-Building Shortcuts

 

Internova PLUS participants universally agree that personal relationships are the essential driver in business development.

 

Three factors emerged as most likely to build connections that create effective relationships: trust, transparency and communication: 

• Win-win: Trust develops most quickly between advisors and partners when each acts simply in the mutual interest of the client.

• Strong support and quick responses: A lack of response – or an untimely one – can break trust even between reliable partners.

• Transparency and honesty: If something goes wrong, advisors expect partners to communicate proactively rather than reactively.

  

Supplier Selection in Crowded Markets 

 

With dozens of luxury destination management companies and hotels in major global hubs like London, New York and Paris, selecting the right provider has become a complex process. Internova-affiliated advisors now rely on data-driven insights to match clients with the best-fit luxury experiences, ensuring that bookings align more seamlessly with their clients’ specific preferences. 

 

This level of hyper-personalization requires a deeper exchange of information from both parties:  

• References are key: Advisors prioritize partners with whom they or a trusted colleague have successfully worked before.

• Clear differentiation: Travel providers must readily share their unique selling points and offerings compared to competitors.

 

What’s Next with Industry and Agency Events?  

 

Bigger is not better, according to Internova PLUS 2025 delegates. They much prefer smaller, more curated events that offer the opportunity for more meaningful connections and where information overload and untargeted networking are less likely. While one-to-one appointments remain the gold standard, attendees prefer the trend toward data-driven matched meetings as well as “loosely structured” networking opportunities. They also appreciate events with charitable endeavors that give back.

 

To learn more about the Internova collection of hotels, resorts and in-country partners, please visit internovatravel.com. To learn more about Internova Travel Group and its portfolio of travel agency brands, please visit internova.com.

 

About Internova Travel Group

 

Internova Travel Group is one of the largest travel services companies in the world with a collection of leading brands delivering high-touch, personal travel expertise to leisure and corporate clients. Internova manages leisure, business and franchise firms through a portfolio of distinctive divisions. Internova represents more than 100,000 travel advisors in over 6,000 company-owned and affiliated locations predominantly in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, with a presence in more than 80 countries.