In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the dynastic wealth of the Germanic Hohenlohe family was decimated—whereupon Prince Alfonso took his Rolls Royce Phantom on a southward journey to a coastal pine forest overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar on the Costa del Sol of Spain. It was here in Andalucía, 500 years earlier, that Queen Isabella had proclaimed, “Que mar bella,” thereby christening what was to become the legendary resort of Marbella.
A playboy prince, Alfonso had studied in the States—primarily at New York nightclubs and Hollywood parties—and while his father had sent him to Marbella to purchase the land for a Mediterranean hideaway, Alfonso had been so inspired by the small motels of the western United States that he opened The Marbella Club in 1954. At the time, people considered him crazy for attempting to create a resort in a region better known for fishing shacks—but it soon became apparent that The Marbella Club was a harbinger of luxury resorts the world over.
The 1955 wedding of the playboy prince and 15-year-old Ira von Fürstenberg, heiress to the Fiat fortune, was a 16-day affair attended by the largest assembly of nobility since the end of the war—and thereafter, The Marbella Club became the de facto clubhouse for an ongoing cavalcade of aristocrats, sheikhs, potentates, crowned heads, and celebrities, all cocooned from the world in a luxuriant garden free from radio and television. The combination of natural beauty and privacy transformed Marbella into one of the world’s most exclusive resorts.
In short, the origins of Marbella reveal a great deal about the world of luxury travel—and, therefore, where better than Marbella to host Traveller Made‘s annual Essence of Luxury Travel forum. Created in 2013 by founder Quentin Desurmont, Traveller Made is comprised of 390 member agencies in 65 countries who serve the travel needs of ultra-high-net-worth (UNHW) individuals and their families. In other words, think haute voyage—or the haute couture of travel.
Alongside nearly 900 hotel partners, as well as partnerships with more than 140 destination management companies and numerous tourism boards, Traveller Made’s member agencies specialize in extraordinary holidays and personalized service for those UNHW individuals and their families whose liquid assets hover around $30 million. The combination of destination and client knowledge enables the travel designers of Traveller Made to produce sui generis journeys that are customized in every detail. Each year, Traveller Made’s luxury professionals manage the travel needs of more than 55,000 UHNW families worldwide, generating revenues of nearly $3 billion.
For this year’s fifth edition of Essence of Luxury Travel, Traveller Made assembled more than 850 travel designers, hoteliers, media, and tourism board representatives at some of Marbella’s more legendary locales, including Marbella Club, Villa Padierna Palace Hotel, Puente Romano, Gran Meliá Don Pepe, and Hotel Bahia. As a primary sponsor, Galeria Canalejas Madrid celebrated its upcoming December 2019 opening with a VIP Lounge at Marbella Congresos—and a Champagne extravaganza at The Marbella Club.
At the annual press conference, Desurmont introduced Katja Graisse, Associate Director of BalistikArt, a luxury trend observatory, who spoke about the concept of newstalgia—a portmanteau of new and nostalgia—and its impact on the luxury travel market. Ostensibly an oxymoron, the word newstalgia appears to imply two contradictory terms—and yet the word is an accurate reflection of our epoch in depicting the desire for an idealized past while embracing the technological revolution of our time.
In regards to luxury travel, the concept of newstalgia manifests itself in astrotourism and the pursuit of eclipses and supermoons to the far ends of the earth. As an example of newstalgia, Graisse spoke about galactic journeys and this year’s 50th anniversary of the 1969 lunar landing alongside ongoing revolutions in robotics and futuristic fashion.
Desurmont unveiled Traveller Made’s annual travel barometer, compiled from more than 600 travel designers about their business with UHNW families and individuals. Travel trends for 2019 revealed an ongoing interest in Japan, Indochina, and Maldives—with a growing demand for travel to Sri Lanka, Scandinavia, and the polar regions. Private places with a high level of service scored equally high, as did circumnavigational travel. In essence, many UHNW individuals are seeking unique experiences in remote locales that evoke a childlike wonder at the beauty of the cosmos.
For Traveller Made’s annual conference held at Marbella Congresos, the focus was on building luxury brand personalities within the travel industry, with presentations from LVMH, Christie’s, Wealth-X, as well as Vindême and L’Officine Universelle Buly. As one speaker asserted, for her, true luxury is time: the time to pause and consider and contemplate—and, thereby, to create.
Or, as Prince Alfonso confirmed, it’s a place to escape. The 2020 edition of Traveller Made’s Essence of Luxury Travel will be held from 23-27 March in Marbella.
