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A&K Travel’s imminent brand refresh will reflect the evolution of the luxury customer and a shifting perception of luxury travel, according to A&K Australasia MD Deb Fox.

Speaking at Luxperience in Sydney this week, Fox said the operator has seen a definite shift in the type of people buying luxury travel, and also in the experiences they are interested in. It is this shift that is informing its new brand identity, she revealed.

“We’re doing it for a very important reason,” she stressed. “We have our segments that we produce product for, we market and sell with those customers in mind, and we’ve expanded out those segments considerably.

“We’ve still got the ones we’ve traditionally gone with but we have expanded out these segments, particularly into frontier travel, because that’s where the world wants to be.”

“More millennials are now travelling in the luxury space, having had the bar set at an early age by their parents. ‘They want that same level when they go away, so they’re borrowing money to be able to have these holidays, even if they can’t afford it,” Fox said.

While Australians have long been known for their love of exploring far-flung destinations, Americans are also starting to venture down that path, she revealed, with destinations like Nepal and Bhutan becoming increasingly popular in that market.

As a result of these new dynamics, Fox urged advisors to “be brave” when talking to their customers.

“Don’t assume that they’re not going to like something that’s around edgy travel or more luxurious travel,” she said. “We find that by introducing different styles of experiences or really challenging what a holiday could look like to someone, we can move the basket price up by somewhere between 50 and 100%.”

Delivering authentic luxury experiences that cater to every detail of the customer’s brief is crucial, she advised, adding that the key to this is constant learning about the products on offer and the different stories advisors can tell.

“Then you get to keep the client,” she said. “Over the life cycle of our clients, we know they will keep spending, but you’ve got to get it right, ask the right questions, entice them, inspire them and get the detail right.”

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