stomers to receive advice, guidance and curated recommendations from travel experts. It comes as both the global tourism and travel agency sectors undergo significant change following the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought a halt to international travel. Despite the recent resurgence, current macroeconomic and cost-of-living pressures have resulted in people making discretionary spending cutbacks. This – coupled with the rising cost of airfares – has led to a change in travel plans, en-masse.  According to the most recent consumer sentiment survey by National Australia Bank, two in every three Australians with intentions to travel have cancelled or postponed their plans in the last three months. Meanwhile, almost half have decided to travel domestically rather than overseas. However, many Aussies aren’t holding back on travel entirely, with the survey showing that 85 per cent of Australians plan to go on holiday over the next year.  Across Asia and the Pacific, international arrivals returned to 54 per cent of pre-pandemic levels for the first three months of 2023, with UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili saying that “all eyes in global tourism were on [these regions].” This resurgence has been a lifeline for bricks-and-mortar travel agencies, which just a few years ago appeared to be on the brink of collapse. Australian travel agency Flight Centre – which stood down thousands of staff in 2020 – recently acquired UK-based premium leisure travel business Luxury Travel Holdings Limited as a means of accelerating growth.  The company, which operates under various names internationally, recently upgraded its FY23 earnings to between $295 million and $305 million, up from $270 to $290 million declared during its HY results. Global insurance company Allianz also saw revenues in its travel business grow to over £3 billion in 2022 (about A$5 billion) – up 80 per cent on the year prior – underpinned by more than 17 per cent compound annual growth in the global travel insurance market.  The company identified individualised service as a key trend in the travel insurance industry – which likely bodes well for bricks-and-mortar travel agents. While some might consider travel agencies to be outdated in an era of flight comparison sites and Airbnb, one area where demand remains resilient is luxury travel. According to Flywire, more than half of US luxury travellers surveyed planned to use a travel agent for an upcoming holiday.  Against this backdrop, Adam Schwab, Luxury Escapes CEO and co-founder, has decided that it’s the right time for the formerly online-only booking site to open its first permanent store.  The company first entered the retail space in 2017 with a pop-up store on Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD. Since then, it has opened other pop-ups, including at Chadstone.   “Fast forward to 2023 and we couldn’t be more excited to have launched our first permanent Luxury Escapes store at Chadstone,” Schwab told Inside Retail. “It really is the world’s most luxurious and likely the world’s largest travel retail concept.” “The Luxury Escapes retail concept offers a truly elevated experience that combines the best of both the physical and digital worlds.” Image supplied. “Really unusual economic environment” According to Schwab, Luxury Escapes has had a particularly busy year. Its total transaction volume has more than doubled pre-Covid-19 levels, as has its traffic. Meanwhile, its team has grown from 220 to almost 600 staff across the world, with the brand experiencing “really quick” global growth – especially in the US and UK.  He added that the travel industry has bounced back with a vengeance following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. “There has been huge pent-up demand as we are seeing this come through in bookings. On top of that, there has been a material change in how people view travel and experiences, with people taking more frequent and longer holidays,” Schwab said. This is reinforced by Luxury Escapes’ 2023 travel trend report from earlier this year, which demonstrated that nine in 10 Australians had plans to travel either domestically or internationally in 2023. According to the report, which surveyed over 4,000 participants, travel was the highest priority for most on their discretionary spend list, with more than half of respondents stating that their travel plans had not been impacted by cost of living pressures. “We’re seeing a really unusual economic environment. Cost-of-living pressures are causing a huge impact on a big segment of the population, especially those with floating rate mortgages,” Schwab said. “However, for a lot of people, who have fully paid off their home and have bank savings or investments, higher interest rates mean they suddenly have a lot more income. “So we’re seeing some people spend huge amounts on travel, and purchas[ing] once-in-a-lifetime experiences, despite the increasingly challenged macro environment.”   What’s next A big driver of the new Chadstone store is the enhanced visibility that comes with a striking physical space. From previous experience, Schwab anticipates that the majority of in-store customers will be new to the brand. However, once in, he believes they can retain these customers on a long-term basis.  Regarding future plans, Schwab explained that Luxury Escapes is seeking to expand its product range. It recently added the Ultra Lux collection, which includes more than 4,000 fully bookable cruises and private tour products, and is launching a partnership with luxury travel pioneer Abercrombie & Kent, as well as new villas and hotel partnerships. “At the same time, we’ve continued to expand our existing media portfolio – series six of the Luxury Escapes TV show goes live in August on Foxtel and Ten, and we recently launched Dream, an incredible glossy travel magazine for our travel addicted audience,” he said. “We’re also expanding rapidly in the US, UK and Asia and taking Luxury Escapes to the world.”