4 types of travel popular among the rich

In the U.S., the wealthy continue to spend on travel and other products while the masses cut back. Airlines such as United and Delta report strong demand for premium-class tickets, despite a slowdown in domestic travel. Major hotel brands such as Hilton and Hyatt also report strong growth in the luxury segment.

According to Tom Marchant, co-founder of luxury travel company Black Tomato, there are four types of trips that are popular with wealthy travelers. The average price for a trip organized by Black Tomato is about $40,000 and can go up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Marchant said the company’s customers are often not so much interested in where they go, but rather in the experience. Rather than focusing on specific destinations, luxury travelers are looking for specific emotions or experiences. Earlier this year, the company launched its “Feelings Engine,” an AI-powered tool that helps users plan trips based on emotions like relaxation, challenge, freedom, motivation.

Here are four types of trips that are popular among the ultra-wealthy right now.

Experience the challenge

Black Tomato has noted a rise in travelers seeking challenging experiences that require effort rather than just money.

“They have a desire to challenge themselves through a hike, a long journey, or to go to a place that is culturally overwhelming,” Marchant says.

These trips are an antidote to the realities of everyday life, where almost everything is just a click away. This type of travel is popular with solo travelers, couples, and families looking to get out of their comfort zones.

Raja Ampat in Indonesia is often included in Black Tomato's travel programs. Photo: CNN

For example, Black Tomato's "Get Lost" trips drop off customers at a remote destination and give them the supplies to find their way back to civilization in a few days. Esther Spengler, a Black Tomato customer, said her $13,000 "Get Lost" experience in Morocco was more of an "adventure" than a vacation.

Other challenging experiences the company organizes include river rafting in Papua New Guinea, mountain climbing in Japan or driving ATVs through salt flats in Botswana.

Looking for silence

For many affluent travelers, the goal of a vacation is to escape the noise of everyday life. These travelers don’t necessarily want to completely disconnect from the world. They want to go to a place where background noise or noise pollution is minimal.

“More and more people are looking for really quiet places where they can reflect or just feel,” he said.

Around the world, there is a growing trend towards preserving quiet places and visitors are seeking out “quiet parks” – places that offer the opportunity to experience relative silence or just the sounds of the natural world.

Glacier National Park in Montana. Photo: TripAdvisor

In 2019, the nonprofit Quiet Parks International recognized the Zabalo River in Ecuador as its first Quiet Wilderness Park. Glacier National Park in Montana was the first U.S. national park to receive the designation.

One aspect of this trend is the “reading week,” Marchant said. Travelers want to go to a quiet place primarily to read, reflect, and be free of distractions. He said reading trips are especially popular with business leaders, who rarely have time to read without being distracted by work.

Admire natural phenomena

Traveling to see natural phenomena is a trend at Black Tomato. The company plans trips around natural events that may only happen once in a lifetime.

The famous Great Migration of Wildlife in Tanzania. Photo: Serengeti National Park

A few years ago, they built a camp in the mountains of Patagonia for guests to enjoy a total solar eclipse in luxury. Traveling to witness natural phenomena such as eclipses, auroras or animal migrations can be especially appealing to the wealthy because it offers an experience that is far removed from their everyday lives.

Many of the company's clients live in Los Angeles, so traveling to a place with a beautiful mansion, a fancy pool and pleasant weather is less appealing.

"They have enough at home," he said.

Spiritual therapy

More and more travelers are using travel as a way to slow down and reassess aspects of their lives, from work, family, relationships, to health. These trips take customers to places where they can immerse themselves in a community that has a different or interesting perspective on the fundamentals of life.

One example is tourism to Blue Zones – “green areas” where people have longer life expectancies – which has seen an increase in visitors since the concept was popularized.

Sardinia "Green Zone" in Italy. Photo: A&K Villas

The popularity of self-improvement retreats or psychedelic use is particularly appealing to business leaders. Marchant argues that the world’s abundance and hyper-connectivity have made the wealthy more eager than ever to disconnect and explore off-the-beaten-path destinations.

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