Audley Travel reveals insight into the HNWI travel market

Audley Travel reveals insight into the HNWI travel market

• Half of HNWIs expect to take two or three international holidays in the next 12 months.
• More than two thirds spend more than £25,000 per person on their main international trip of the year.
• To HNWIs, luxury travel means experiencing the world's best restaurants, tours and accommodation, enjoying exceptional service and having access to exclusive experiences and excursions.
• HMWI’s three main objectives for an international holiday are to explore new destinations, relaxation and immersing in local culture.

Audley Private Concierge (an exclusive and dedicated invitation-only service that matches clients with their own Private Travel Manager to seamlessly manage all their travel, launched recently by tailor-made tour operator Audley Travel) is today sharing compelling insight into the top end of the travel market. Spend and frequency of travel confirms this market continues to thrive and the research also found that perceptions of luxury travel vary with gender, age, and wealth among HNWIs, as does the way they research and book their travel.

Frequency of travel

50 percent of HNWIs expect to take two or three international holidays in the next 12 months (with 27 percent taking two international holidays and 23 percent three). 10 percent will travel once, 13 percent four times, 11 percent five times, four percent six times and seven percent expect to travel internationally more than seven times. Only three percent don’t intend to travel internationally.

Younger HNWIs expect to take more international holidays than their older counterparts. 12 percent of 18-34s and 15 percent of 35-54s plan to travel six or more times, whereas only eight percent of over 55s say the same. Seven percent of 55+ don’t plan to travel internationally, compared to one percent of 18-34s – all 35-54s respondents expect to go abroad.

Spend on travel

For nearly two in three HNWIs (64 percent), typical total annual spend on international holidays is more than £40,000 for the household. Seven percent spend more than £140,000, rising to 12 percent for respondents in London. More than two thirds (69 percent) spend more than £25,000 per person on their main international trip of the year.

There is a correlation between the higher per person per holiday spend and the number of trips – a third (34 percent) of the respondents who say they plan to take six or more trips in the year also plan to spend more than £40,000 per person on their main holiday.

Older HNWIs typically spend less overall on trips than younger counterparts, as well as spending less on their biggest individual holiday. 40 percent of those aged 55+ spend less than £9,999 on their main trip (compared to 13 percent of 18-34s and 19 percent of 35-54s). At the top of the scale, 15 percent of 18-34s spend more than £50,000 per person (this falls to two percent for over 55s and nine percent of 35-54s).

What luxury travel means to HNWIs

To HNWIs, luxury travel means experiencing the world's best restaurants, tours and accommodation, enjoying exceptional service and having access to exclusive experiences and excursions (cited as the top three by 55 percent, 52 percent and 48 percent of respondents respectively).

Males associate first class travel with luxury more than females (in the top three criteria of a luxury trip for 40 percent vs 29 percent), whilst access to prestigious events is in the top three for 34 percent of females vs 23 percent of males.

For wealthier HNWIs, privacy is key with 37 percent for those with assets of £10m+ citing it in their top three, compared to 17 percent for respondents with assets of £1m to £1.99m.

Exceptional service was the number one choice across all regions of the UK, with the exception of the north (where first class or private jet travel was cited as the main definer of a luxury trip by one in five (20 percent)) and the Midlands (where one in five (21 percent) opted for exclusive experiences and excursions).

What HNWIs want from an international holiday

HMWI’s three main objectives for an international holiday are to explore new destinations (55 percent), relaxation (51 percent) and immersing in local culture (36 percent).

As a comparison, this question was also asked to a sample of the general population*. Finding new, exclusive experiences is more than twice as important to HNWIs than the general population (24 percent cited this in their top three, compared to 10 percent). Similarly, pursing personal passions is twice as important to HNWIs (25 percent vs 13 percent). Food and drink are less important to HNWIs than the general population (35 percent vs 41 percent).

Sustainable travel is of a similar importance overall to HNWIs and the general population - in the top three for 17 percent of HNWI and 14 percent of the general population. Looking at the different age groups for the HNWI respondents, it is twice as important for 18-34s than the older groups (nine percent vs four percent each).

How HNWIs book international holidays

More than two in five HNWIs (42 percent) prefer independent online research. Younger travellers lean toward booking with a tour operator that is an expert in their chosen destination (40 percent) and concierge companies are most likely to be used by travellers booking six or more trips per year (seven percent), than those only travelling once or twice (four percent) or three to five times (also four percent).

HNWIs highly value personalised recommendations from a dedicated holiday planner who knows their preferences, with 56 percent citing this as one of the main three most valuable offerings that this role gives (20 percent ranked this as the main reason).

Nick Longman, CEO at Audley Travel, said: “The importance of knowing a clients’ preferences is at the heart of the Audley Private Concierge offering, with each client matched with a Private Travel Manager. This relationship continues to develop as they create more trips together, so they will be able to anticipate the clients’ needs and proactively inspire their future travels with fully personalised experiences that go far beyond the ordinary, supported by the expert knowledge from our large team of destination specialists.”

The full report can be downloaded here and more information on Audley Private Concierge can be found at www.audleytravel.com/about-us/audley-private-concierge

ENDS

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Notes to Editors

The research was designed by Audley Travel and MillionaireVue from Savanta and was conducted with 500 UK-based HNWIs with £1m+ investable assets. The research was conducted in May and June 2024. Supplementary research with the general population was conducted by Kantar with a sample of 1,267 UK adults (18 plus) in May 2024.