Their new sister resort in Qatar, Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som, has a dedicated area for the family called ‘Zulal Discovery’ where all members can pursue wellness initiatives together. It offers customised wellness programmes to suit physical and mental development at different ages. This is exactly what Millennials want for their Gen Z and Gen Alpha offspring — to become fully attuned to improving their well-being.
Curating multi-generational passion trips
“A key takeaway from the pandemic is it made people realise that spending time with the right people at the right place is an essential part of a fulfilled and happy life,” said Dr Timo Gruenert, CEO of Oetker Collection. For families this means finding places that allow them to connect, but also using holidays as a way to pass on passion points to the next generation in a hands-on manner.
Luxury travel agency Black Tomato coins this as “generation passion” — where families connect over a shared activity, which forges closer bonds. From pottery making to mountain climbing, they see more and more families requesting to explore a shared hobby or passion, especially those with teenage kids.
The return of the travel advisor and the rise of AI
Even with myriad apps and ChatGPT at our fingertips, high net worth travellers have reverted to working with travel advisors to manage their most important asset: time.
“The question we ask is why do you have a financial adviser but not a collaborator for leisure time?” said Matthew D Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso. With booking windows getting longer and logistics becoming more complex, more HNWI leave the utilisation of their time to experts who craft multi-year trips.
On the other side of the coin is the growing acceptance of generative AI. Although only 6 per cent of people used AI tools in 2023, the Expedia Group predicts that a new generation of travellers will embrace the technology in their travel journey. Their recent survey says “half of travellers are interested in using generative AI to plan their next trip, and 1 in 3 say it’s very useful when making travel plans.” Simplification of planning through a conversational format is apparently what makes this tech most appealing.