Virtuoso has brought together key stakeholders from its travel agency members and preferred partners for this week’s 2022 Symposium. Attendees boarded Silversea’s newest vessel, Silver Dawn, for an exclusive pre-inaugural cruise: a five-day roundtrip sailing from Lisbon with two days of exploration in Porto.
The high-level event attracted over 300 of the industry’s most prestigious executives from 35 countries for networking, ideation sessions and bonding through shared experiences. The business content featured a deep dive into generational insights on traveller behaviours and workplace dynamics, as revealed through the work of Virtuoso’s Innovation Teams. This in-depth look into travellers’ habits and today’s workforce was also at the centre of roundtable discussions focusing on future opportunities and marketing innovation, all intended to further propel luxury travel across each generation.
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The event began with an Opening Session at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon. In addition to presentations by Virtuoso executives, including a keynote from Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch, the main topic focused on a generational traveller study Virtuoso conducted for more than two years. Presentations delineating the differences and commonalities between each of the three most prominent generations were followed by a Q&A session moderated by Virtuoso Senior Vice President, Network Products and Strategy David Kolner featuring Baby Boomer, Generation X and Millennial representatives.
Upchurch spoke about the inter-generational collaboration that has proven to be a great strength within the network, highlighting that mentorship and the sharing of ideas and best practices are foundational to Virtuoso.
“We have a clear advantage,” said Upchurch, “because we don’t just sell experiences. We offer the experience of dealing with us, where travellers benefit from relationships of trust.
