Shattering the status quo: escalating game changers are impacting both leisure and business travelers.

• Author: Kern, Merilee
• Position: Going Places

THE GLOBAL luxury market collectively grew four percent last year-to an estimated 1.15 trillion dollars--according to a study by Bain & Company. The luxury goods market, too, is picking up steam, while the hospitality industry is gearing up for elevated demand among both leisure and business travelers. This amid evidence that, despite widespread geopolitical uncertainties, well-off consumers are redirecting their spending toward new and more personalized high-end experiences like luxury travel, food, and wine.

"The luxury market has reached a maturation point," says Claudia D'Arpizio, lead author of the study. "Brands can no longer rely on low-hanging fruit. Instead, they really need to implement differentiating strategies to succeed going forward. We are already starting to see clear polarization when it comes to performance with winners and losers emerging across product categories and segments."

D'Arpizio also underscores that personal luxury market brands that "take an omnichannel, customer-centric approach will rise to the top." Such is the prevailing wisdom for both the business-to-consumer and business-to-business luxury travel sector, specifically, with personalized experiences, quality of service, and private booking options serving as primary distinguishing factors for luxe brand positioning throughout 2017 and beyond.

Here is how these key drivers will converge with evolving luxury travel trends to influence various vertical sectors--and, in doing so, the marketplace at large--in the months ahead:

Small group cultural immersions loom large. Travelers increasingly are seeking exclusive and regionally-authentic itineraries that cater to small groups. Tour companies are capitalizing on this trend with offerings that provide the convenience of an escorted tour with the intimate view of local cultures that large groups just cannot provide. "Our small group tours option has seen, by far, the most significant increase in booking volume--up 50% in 2016," one travel company executive reports.

A City Lodge Hotel Group report concurs that the trend of being "connoisseurs of local culture" is booming this year. It emphasizes that indigenous tourism experiences and cultural immersion remain a big factor whether traveling within your own home country or jaunting to faraway lands. "We see more people wanting to visit more than the big landmarks and monuments of their destination," it says. "Rather, people are more likely to be interested in...