The Rise of Marketing to High-Value Travelers

Evan Saunders was recently invited to Canberra, Australia by Austrade to present on the topic of using data driven research to engage high value travelers, which served as the inspiration for this piece. Evan sat on Austrade’s Industry Data and Expert Analysis Working Group for two years and previously won the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association’s Top 25 Minds award for his work in engaging affluent Chinese travelers. Data from Azira coupled with interviews with tourism research and marketing professionals were used to write the below article. Learn more from Evan in Travel Weekly Australia here.

High-value travelers – who wants them?

Apparently everyone does. 

Outside of headlines, the topic of engaging this segment of tourist has been a constant theme in our many conversations with destinations and their respective agencies, in America and around the world.

Airlines adding more premium economy seats, luxury hotel chains launching cruise ships, Michelin creating a hotel guide to promote high end hospitality, cities – even countries – increasing taxes on tourists in an effort to bring in the “right” type of visitor, re-invest in negating the issues tourists cause, and if at all possible, reduce overtourism. But when roundtrip flights from Boston to Sydney command such high prices - such as business class at $12k and even a standard main ticket at $2700, with every flight sold out (so they told me!) - even the destinations are at the mercy of airlines in an effort to engage high value travelers.

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I’m from Boston, recently named the most expensive city in the world for hotel accommodations, where Accor just opened North America’s first Raffles hotel, commanding rates often above $1,000 per night. “Today’s most discerning travelers seek more than indulgence; they seek meaning,” Carlos Bueno, General Manager of Raffles Boston, explained to me. “As travel becomes increasingly intentional, luxury travelers are drawn to experiences and brands that inspire genuine connection and authenticity.”

But today, my travels have taken me far away from Boston. I’m here in Canberra, Australia, for meetings with Austrade on the very topic of marketing to high value tourists. Before diving into our research, it’s helpful to define why this segment matters and what actually defines it. “They have lots of money and will spend it” simply does not capture this market.

What is a high-value traveler?

We all have different values when it comes to saving and spending money. Through our own research coupled with our data aggregator partnerships and surveyors, we recognize priorities on consumerism differ greatly among those with high incomes, those with inherited wealth, and those whose income doesn’t always align with the spending habits they exhibit. 

While in Sydney hosting a Lunch and Learn session, Adele Labine-Romain, Head of Travel & Tourism at Roy Morgan, shared: “We see a strong connection between higher income households and travel incidence… What luxury means differs across groups – there can be a cost threshold, but in some cases luxury reflects the investment of time needed by the traveller to get to special places and remarkable experiences.”

People with large mortgages don’t always fly business, and those spending little on rent sometimes prioritize it. We live in a world of diverse desires—even neighbors with similar lifestyles have wildly different wants.

Why destinations care

Over tea at Austrade’s headquarters in Canberra following my presentation, Rod Battye, Tourism Research Australia’s Data Innovation and Partnerships Manager, put it succinctly: “Our country battles both distance and cost challenges, which makes it almost impossible for us to become a high-volume market for international tourism. Therefore, high value, and often high net worth, travellers are important for us because they may stay longer, participate in more activities and disperse to more locations.”

Austrade also focuses on regions that can sustain long-term visitation, creating broad, sustainable economic impact, because tourism is critical for the labor market and tax revenues, both of which are long term efforts, Rod elaborated on. 

But not all destinations are always prepared for high-value travelers from a product perspective, even if this segment is excited to visit. "With the expense associated with getting to Australia, driving tourism among high-value travelers to Western Australia remains a great opportunity and priority, but so does creating experiences and products that cater to this market," Elyse Cope, Tourism Western Australia’s Insights and Strategy Manager told me. 

There are far fewer high-value travelers than middle and lower segments – is this a case of less is more? If travel were cheaper, would destinations be overrun with tourists who don’t contribute to local economies?

At last year’s Hawaii Tourism Annual Conference, the concept of fewer travelers equating to less stress on the state’s natural ecosystem was quite prevalent. I presented on the topic of driving regeneratable tourism, and engaging high-value travelers was a key input into this formula. 

“Limited supply and sustained demand have supported higher prices,” shared Caroline Anderson, interim CEO of Hawaii Tourism Authority with me. “Our approach has been deliberate - focusing on value over volume and ensuring growth shows up in the right places: resident well-being, visitor satisfaction, and economic yield per visitor.”

The balance of access and exclusivity

Overtourism was a major topic at this year’s ITB Berlin conference, right alongside certain countries in the Middle East investing billions into new tourism products, eager to get their share of overtourism one day. I was lucky enough to visit Bhutan recently, a country that requires each tourist to hire a guide and pay an additional $100 Sustainable Development Fee every day, per person, that they are there. Even at IMEX, the topic of Las Vegas and costs is ever present among attendees. 

Do high priced flights and daily fees truly ensure a destination is attracting high-value travelers while maintaining a product and ecosystem that locals enjoy?

And it’s not just hotels, flights, and taxes – even attractions are getting creative with pricing, with the likes of dynamic pricing here in America and a simple approach of charging tourists more than locals in Japan. Suzie Baker, Head of Brand, Marketing, and CX at the world famous Taronga Zoo in Sydney, shared with me their attraction looks to “align with Tourism Australia and focus on this high-value traveler, who are more likely to invest in quality experiences when they arrive.”

Regardless of your destination or product, it’s clear there’s a diverse group of tourists eager to spend within the visitor economy. With modern data tools, gone are the days of broad, one-size-fits-all marketing. High spend doesn’t always equate to high income, which makes precise, data-driven segmentation more important than ever.

The takeaway

Individual attention. That is what your campaigns deserve. And there’s enough data to make it a reality. 

My wife and I, and our two young children, live next to a couple whose kids just graduated college to our left, and to our right are grandparents soaking up retirement. We all live on the same road, in the same census block group, but we are uniquely very different consumers and tourists. Marketing to all three homes the same message would be a waste of money. And fortunately, it isn’t necessary. 

It is now possible to take mobile location data – insights into where people go and what they do – and combine this with household level survey data – insights into what people like, want, and feel – to dig into psyche and really discern whether individual travelers want your product. 

We no longer live in a world of “build it and they will come.” Marketing guides tourists, convinces them of value, and helps ensure they disperse, spend, and contribute to both local economies and cultures.  

Life is only getting more expensive, but I hope the world stays accessible to all. Tourism is a gift - and regardless of someone’s wealth, everyone has the opportunity to be a traveler every destination desires.  Here in Australia, it may be costly to reach, but both luxury vacationers and backpackers can enjoy its best experiences - especially with the Australian dollar near historic lows.

Do you think travel has gotten much more expensive? Are you personally priced out of any trip? 

‍We’d love to hear your perspective. Connect with me on LinkedIn to continue the conversation!