Virtuoso Travel Week

Explora Journeys celebrated its Virtuoso partners who have demonstrated unwavering support since the ultra-luxury brand’s launch at a lavish dinner held at Ocean Prime in Las Vegas. The event coincided with Virtuoso Travel Week, which itself welcomed more than 4,800 participants from around the world.

Having pioneered the launch of river cruising in Colombia earlier this year, AmaWaterways is “actively looking” at new destinations to add to its offering, CEO Catherine Powell has confirmed.

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.

Virtuoso CEO and Chairman Matthew Upchurch is encouraging the industry to flip from using the phrase ‘over tourism’ to ‘destination stewardship’, which the World Travel & Tourism Council has been referring to the edgy topic for the past four years.

Virtuoso has revealed it is set to introduce new Community focused ‘On Tour’ events.

Despite the perception that “travel is down,” Virtuoso is reporting that all travel categories are up when compared to 2024 numbers. Said Misty Belles, Vice President, Global Public Relations for Virtuoso: “Luxury travel just behaves differently.”

The 37th annual Virtuoso Travel Week will kick off this weekend in Las Vegas, taking place 9-15 August 2025 across Bellagio Resort & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Vdara Hotel & Spa.

Virtuoso will host its fourth annual Travel Tech Summit during Virtuoso Travel Week this year. The Summit will take place Saturday, 9 August, at Bellagio Resort & Casino.Due to high demand, Virtuoso has almost doubled the capacity of this year’s Tech Summit and is expecting 500 attendees. The summit is led by tech entrepreneur, investor and Virtuoso board member Gilad Berenstein, who will open the discussion by showcasing key themes in travel technology he has been following over the past year, as well as the development of Virtuoso’s tech ecosystem.

A record number of Virtuoso travel agencies and advisors in Australia and New Zealand have been named as finalists in the 2025 Virtuoso Gala Awards, that will be officially announced in a few weeks time in Las Vegas at Virtuoso Travel Week.

Virtuoso’s signature gathering Virtuoso Travel Week continues to grow, with more changes on the cards as the event heads into 2025 including an appointment increase of 44%.

A recent visit to Western Australia’s Kimberley region has had a profound impact on the President of Seabourn, Natalya Leahy. Speaking with LATTE at Virtuoso Travel Week earlier this month, Leahy said she was mesmerised by the landscapes and Indigenous culture which has left a permanent imprint on her soul.

Virtuoso will consider adding new travel agency members, heighten its travel advisor training programs and expand its home-grown and developed Regional Preferred Partner Program – now rolled out globally – as the luxury travel market continues to expand.