New Demographics in Luxury and Travel

photo credit: Gulf News

Rapidly changing demographics mean swiftly adapting and changing strategies for the luxury travel industry. Holders of the newest economic influence include children (well, they may not exactly be wielding the power), the LGBT community and women.

For the LGBT community, 2013 has been a key moment in time, and those in the know have and will continue to find ways to meet the needs of these luxury travelers. Where the group was once ignored, they are now courted. Plus, this is where the hotel and wedding industries sit up and take notice — with the growing social acceptance of gay marriage, so too does the gay wedding market grow.

While children — and their various extracurricular activities — have long been seen as a reflection of social status, more and more hotel brands are upping the ante to create truly unique opportunities for children. For those young environmentalists, the Burj al Arab in Dubai offers the Turtle Rehabilitation in Jumeirah project. Sick turtles are nursed back to health and temporarily housed in the Burj al Arab aquarium. Once they’re ready to return to the sea, young hotel guests help release them back to the water, but not before having the opportunity to name the turtles after themselves!

For the female traveler, it may seem that travel and hospitality brands are only just recognizing their specific needs and desires. As the Telegraph states, however, it is a risk of these brands to fall back on unimaginative responses in order to fill the gap. One good idea came from Korean Air, with the expansion of their Prestige Lounge at Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, which now includes an area catering exclusively to women. Plus, for years Korean Air has include women-only toilets on its longer flights.