Matthew Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of global luxury travel network, Virtuoso, has revealed the three major focus points that are top of mind for the consortia at present, alongside new initiatives being developed to preserve the company’s reputation.
Speaking at the 2024 Virtuoso Forum Australia/NZ: Bangkok two-day conference, Upchurch’s keynote presentation centred on the power of unity, building on the theme of this year’s event – ‘Together for Tomorrow’.
Upchurch elaborated on each of the three focus areas: the high-value traveller market, network synergies and tech & data.
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High value traveller
“Today’s high-margin luxury travel business has become a very highly targeted and relevant business opportunity,” the Virtuoso chairman said.
Upchurch encouraged travel agency owner-managers to not only consider change and evolution for their business’s future but to evaluate what they shouldn’t change, and instead double down and “go deeper into what are our strengths.”
“We also want to safeguard the reputation and brand value of Virtuoso,” Upchurch stated.
“One of the things we’re also working on is how to help you as our members have a strategy for developing your advisors within a pyramid of: somebody who is focused, a great producer, a top producer, to an icon, he revealed. (Virtuoso also unveiled plans to roll out its Virtuoso Cruise Icon program in the Australian market in the coming months, LATTE can exclusively reveal).
Network synergies
“We’re also working on network synergies – who our members are, what different partners,” Upchurch said, pinpointing the regional network program and Virtuoso’s Communities, “as a way of doing business, all the different specialisations, because I think that’s going to be one of the most interesting ways we’re going to be able to capture the imagination of consumers.”
The Fort Worth-based Virtuoso boss encouraged data and skills sharing between members, while also noting the impact AI will have on the market.
“I’m so proud of what this organisation has done for so many years with the idea that there is more to be gained by sharing together, than there is by keeping to yourself,” he said.
Tech and data
On the subject of tech and data, Upchurch said Virtuoso was actively carrying out a lot of work behind the scenes.”Our view of the world is to create a tech ecosystem that allows us to bring in multiple variations and competitive technologies that people can then configure together, rather than building monolithic systems. In other words, we don’t believe there is a single right way of doing that.”
“A lot of the big competitors in the travel industry, they are as much data companies as they are travel bubbles. If you think about the OTAs, a lot of their power is in that. Our solution, our way of succeeding, is to combine the two – data and technology.”
Upchurch encouraged Forum delegates to consider how the industry has changed and rebuked those who said the travel advisor was a “dinosaur and would fade away.”
New data suggests the global tourism and travel GDP will grow two times faster than global GDP.
“, we can hardly handle all the business we are getting. We have literally changed the profile of this profession.”
“One of the things I’m the most proud of that this organisation has done is we have professionalised the travel advisory profession.”
“Whether you’re an independent contractor, part of a team, this profession has become something way more respected, way more sought after than it had ever been before,” Upchurch said.
