Content Director, Travel Group
csperance@questex.com (Luxury Travel Advisor)
If we’ve learned one thing over the last six years, it’s that no matter the crisis, travel always finds a way of roaring back. We crave the getaway, the escape to new places near and far, and the chance to interact with one another. Life is always throwing curveballs, but we’re always ready to get back on the road, into the friendly skies, and reconnect with family and friends or make new acquaintances in a hotel bar on the other side of the world.
Crisis in the Middle East continues as I type these words, but the travel advisors I’ve spoken with in the weeks following the strikes on Iran point to no overall travel fallout per se. The map is simply shifting. While Middle East transit hubs operate on reduced capacity, Europe, the Caribbean, and Hawaii are emerging as substitute destinations for upcoming holidays. Miriam Hall’s latest feature connects with several advisors on how to best serve clients through disruption — and why the region’s resilience means the Middle East isn’t going anywhere as a dream destination, just temporarily recalibrating.
That desire to connect shapes much of our spring issue. Head to Alaska with Erica Silverstein to explore why this stretch of the world keeps drawing the most luxe cruise lines on earth. Down in Mexico, Ife Taiwo-Newman reports on the seemingly never-ending runway for new luxury hotel development, while Alison Fox dives into the booming business of family travel in some of the tropics’ most glamorous enclaves. Zip over to Monaco with me to explore Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo, a rejuvenated grand dame of the city’s hospitality scene — and a must-stay for anyone eyeing F1 accommodations.
Elsewhere, Dobrina Zhekova shows that the most in-demand experiences are often those without a list price (with the right travel advisor, you can absolutely get access), and contributor Jacques Ledbetter’s print debut checks in with star travel advisor Lila Fox for a lesson we could all use: tackling burnout might lead to your best year ever.
Before closing this issue, pour yourself a pisco sour and head to Peru. My Abercrombie & Kent voyage — Lima food tour and all — left me with new friends, a renewed appreciation for disconnecting, and a reminder of why we got into this business in the first place: The world still has the power to surprise you.
—Cameron Sperance, Content & Editorial Director, Questex Travel