Smartflyer

SmartFlyer this month released its third Travel Trends Report, detailing—based on insights from its global network of advisors, firsthand scouting and conversations with its peers—“the patterns, passions and pivots” shaping the way luxury travellers will explore the world in 2026.

At Virtuoso Travel Week, a panel of luxury travel advisors brought up the trend of shifting brand loyalty dynamics. Notably, Bharti Keshwala, partnerships director – Global Elite & Luxury, Reed & Mackay Travel, in the U.K., said that her clients are increasingly less loyal when it comes to the airlines they book with.

The average SmartFlyer travel advisor is generating just shy of AU$4 million (US$2.5 million) in annual production – five times that of a typical consortia agent, Michael Holtz, Owner and CEO of the New York-headquartered agency has revealed.

SmartFlyer has marked a decade of partnership with SmartFlyer Australia (SmartFlyer AU), celebrating ten years of deepened global connections, shared community, and collective success. Since 2015, the joint venture with Goldman Travel Corporation has served to bridge between markets, enhancing destination expertise and fostering new, global perspectives.

SmartFlyer has revealed the recipients of its SmartFlyer ONE, Club 2A and Rising Star designations for 2024.

Anthony Goldman, Joint Managing Director of Goldman Group has continued his messaging on the need for improved transparency and definitions of the term ‘luxury’ travel. Speaking at the Goldman Group Conference in Melbourne on Saturday, Goldman said the word has become cannibalised by “people” wanting to capitalise on the growth of high-end travel, more so since the pandemic.

Goldman Group will introduce a new VIP division to its retail leisure brand offering red carpet chauffeur service for high-net-worth travellers.

SmartFlyer is expanding its workspaces to cater for a thriving independent contractor (IC) network which is hungry for social interaction and growing bored working from home.

SmartFlyer Agent Recognition dinner and SmartFlyer Day Summit

In 2024, SmartFlyer and Goldman Group are celebrating nine years of partnership and the formation of SmartFlyer Australia.

Ultra-luxe rail travel and five-star cruising are tipped to be the “major products” of choice for high-net-worth-individuals over the next five years, says Erina Pindar, Chief Operating Officer and Managing Partner at SmartFlyer. Pindar, who also serves on Travel + Leisure’s Travel Advisory Board and who was recently named, again, on T+L’s A-List of Travel Advisors, suggests ‘slow travel’ in the sense of rail journeys and serene ocean voyages, will continue to grow in popularity over the coming years.

SmartFlyer has celebrated its top-producing travel agencies through its recognition program, SmartFlyer ONE, which this year included Ash Chin of Sojourns Of in Sydney, Australia.