In-depth research into the luxury travel sector that was started in 2015 has been expanded so that travel buyers and suppliers can better understand the role of executive personal assistants on the path to purchase among high-end travel consumers.
Co-founder of MyTravelResearch, Carolyn Childs, said that members of the Australian edition of Executive PA magazine would be invited to complete the survey. "It will be the most holistic and comprehensive analysis of the high-end travel sector ever done in Asia Pacific," said Childs.
Russell Peacock, Chairman of Executive PA magazine, said that the scope of study by the MyTravelResearch/Luxperience partnership had been expanded to include input from Executive PA and its readers. The input will likely provide revealing insights into the "influential and indispensable" role of executive assistants, said Peacock. "This is indicative of the increasing focus on meetings, events and executive travel in the luxury space," he said.
The on-going research is based on in-depth one-on-one interviews, online surveys, and an expert analysis of issues and trends in the sector by Childs.
"Our initial research says that the travel industry needs to stop looking at high end travel consumers as homogenous," said Childs. She has identified multiple types of luxury travel consumer.
There are "hedonists," "jet setters," "philanthropists," "lotus eaters," and more.
Peacock noted that executive assistants often have meetings and travel budgets ranging from $10,000 to $2 million. "As businesses have looked to make savings and become more cost efficient in the past eight years, more responsibility and power has been handed to EAs and PAs in an effort to plug the gaps due to reductions in manpower," he said.
Michelle Papas of Luxperience added: "With these kind of budgets, a clear understanding of how executive and personal assistants work will boost the high-end travel sector. We will continue to work with partners to better inform the industry on the needs of the various market sectors as they affect luxury travel."
The final report will be available to purchase as a whole or in modular segments addressing different themes, aspects and sectors within luxury travel.
The report is scheduled for publication by September, when Luxperience 2016 takes place in Sydney.
"With the report in hand, people serving the lux sector will be able to turn insights into profitable action," said Childs.
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