TORONTO — These aren’t exactly smooth sailing days for travel. No wonder clients are booking last-minute – and not just typical travellers, but high-end travellers too.
Last-minute travel requests are rampant, say Virtuoso travel advisors taking part in a panel discussion at a media lunch at Virtuoso On Tour Canada yesterday in Toronto.
Six months? Three months? Try four to six weeks – or less. “I’m putting together a trip for clients who want to leave in two weeks,” said Luxe Travel by Design’s Erica Tu, with First in Service.
The current travel climate has travellers and travel advisors battling uncertainty from multiple fronts. Not least of which is the Iran war, the cost of gas, jet fuel and resulting airfare fuel surcharges, and even concerns now about global oil and jet fuel supply.
While plenty of Canadian clients are still sidestepping the U.S. amid politics and border fears, that disruption is almost old news as travellers face real impacts to air travel worldwide.
Tu was joined by Prince Adventures’ Jakki Prince (Trevello Travel Group) and Eleanor Bell with Direct Travel, Georgetown on the Virtuoso panel, for a wide-ranging look at travel trends right now.
Yesterday’s event also incorporated a deep dive into Virtuoso’s treasure trove of stats, along with Environics Analytics 2025 data, from Karen Hardie, General Manager, Canada and Ryan Fraser, Senior Marketing Manager, Canada.
It was the second stop for Virtuoso On Tour Canada, in Toronto April 7-8 following an event in Vancouver March 31-April 1, welcoming a total of 180 advisors and 135 partners. According to Virtuoso, Canada’s luxury travel market is expected to grow by nearly 48%, expanding from US$74.6 billion to $110.5 billion by 2030. Within the Virtuoso network, preferred partner sales in Canada have risen by 9% year-over-year, while future leisure sales one to two years out have increased by 35% and bookings exceeding $50,000 are up 50% year-over-year.
Karen Hardie, GM, Canada (centre) and Ryan Fraser, Sr. Marketing Manager, Canada (second from right) and Virtuoso team members at Virtuoso On Tour Canada’s Toronto stop
“START THE CONVERSATION EARLY ABOUT YOUR TRAVEL PLANS”
“World events are definitely causing some issues,” says Tu, when asked what she’s hearing from clients these days. “I’m seeing a lot of off-season travel. For the Mediterranean, it’s spring and fall. Japan is still huge.”
No matter the destination, insurance continues to be a key part of the travel planning discussion. “You need to have that money protected. People are spending a lot of money on trips. It’s not the cost in-destination. It’s the flight pricing.”
It’s a strange time for travel planning. On one hand, some vacationers are eager to lock in air bookings before airfares climb even higher. On the other hand, global uncertainty along with soaring gas prices and news of more and more fuel surcharges has some Canadians wondering if they should stay put this summer, or at least travel domestically.
Direct Travel’s Bell says that while some of her clients are scaling back on summer travel plans this year, “they’re putting that money aside for bigger trips in fall, winter or next summer.” Her advice for 2026? “Start the conversation early about your travel plans.”
BEST PRACTICES FOR PERSONALIZATION
According to Hardie, affluent Canadians are 35% more likely to use travel planning services than average Canadians.
High-end travellers are looking for travel planning that is “intelligent, intentional and intensely personal,” said Hardie. “They want to co-create trips with advisors, rather than fully outsource. And they reject ‘one size fits all’ trips. The future of luxury travel is not ‘more’ – it’s more personal.”
On the panel, Prince says her personalized approach starts with a discovery call. It’s her favourite part of the process. “If they say they want active adventure, I ask, ‘what does active adventure look like for you?’,” says Prince. “People are looking for collaboration, to help design the ideal trip for them. I think a lot of them have information overload. They’ve come to me because they have questions. They want service. They’re not looking for me to pick something off the shelf and hand it to them. They want to be involved in that design process.”
Bell calls it co-creation. Co-creation “is also about how travel fits into their lifestyle over time,” she says.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL: “CLIENTS WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT”
Sustainability is increasingly part of the travel planning conversation too.
Says Prince: “There’s a sustainability element to every kind of trip. We’re leaving something on the table if we don’t bring it up. They want to talk about it.”
Prince has been a travel advisor since 2019, and her business mix includes one-third cruise bookings, and one-third adventure travel bookings. She says sustainability has been one of her interests her whole life.
She says her clients “would like to do things in a way that introduces sustainability elements into their trip, but not so that it’s the whole trip. I want to position myself and my business for that sustainable traveller. I see it as part of my give-back. If we don’t make it part of our role, how can we move the needle even gently towards sustainable travel?”
Bell has worked as a travel advisor for three years. “I have quite a few clients who are the younger demographic. That demographic has a pretty good understanding about sustainability, so by the time they come to see me, they often already know the companies they want to book. They look to me to elevate the luxury experience.”
G Adventures and Intrepid, and for cruise, Hurtigruten, are among the top-requested companies from these clients, she adds.
According to just-released survey data from some 100 Canadian travel advisors in the Virtuoso network, 13% of advisors say their clients are choosing hotels, cruise lines and other travel providers with strong sustainability practices. Some 46% say clients are avoided crowded destinations, while 35% see clients prioritizing support for local cultures, communities and economies with their travel plans.
Also in the survey, 73% say their clients are adopting off season travel. Their motivations? Just over half (58%) say it’s to mitigate over tourism and avoid crowds, while 26% say it’s to take advantage of lower pricing. Further down the list, 8% say the prime motivator is support for local economies during quieter times. And 6% say clients are booking off-season to avoid less favourable weather conditions.
Barriers for choosing sustainable travel can be a factor, with 28% of Canadian advisors in the Virtuoso survey citing real or perceived higher costs as the biggest barrier. About one-fifth (19%) say clients are concerned travelling sustainably may effect their travel experience. Other responses included lack of clear information about sustainable travel (19%), limited available of sustainable options (13%) and ‘sustainability is not a priority for my clients’ (17%).
How can travel partners / suppliers do a better job informing advisors about sustainable travel? “More FAMs,” said Fraser with a smile, noting that 63% of respondents said they wanted more opportunities to experience sustainable travel efforts first-hand.
“What’s lagging behind a bit is the willingness to pay for sustainable travel. Behaviour and intent is outpacing action,” said Fraser. According to the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report, while behavioural shifts for sustainable travel track high (44% of travellers adjust plans for climate impact, for instance), the willingness to pay tracks lower (38% for local community benefit, 37% for cultural heritage and 31% for eco-friendly practices).
Fraser also notes that Quebec trends 22% higher than the Canadian average across all environmental behaviours, including travel.
U.S. TRAVEL & A.I.
Bell, Prince and Tu were asked about U.S. travel.
“I have some clients who say, I won’t even transit through a U.S. airport. It’s Trump, it’s the politics, it’s the dollar,” says Prince. “I also have clients who are planning a corporate trip in Arizona because they go every year. No matter what clients want, I listen and respond with a solution. Nothing I’m going to say is going to change their mind.”
She’s had only one client cancel a U.S. trip. “But we’re not actively promoting U.S. travel.”
Both Prince and Tu say the U.S. war with Iran has reaffirmed many clients’ determination not to travel to or through the U.S.
And what about AI? Prince says she’s a fan of AI for her occasional research. But she knows its limits. “I remind people that a tool like that is only as good as what’s on the Internet,” she says. “If a traveller reaches out to me, they want personal service.”
MORE TRENDS
Virtuoso’s GM, Canada, Karen Hardie, shared intel from the 2026 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Top emerging destinations include Iceland, Costa Rica, Antarctica, Morocco and Vietnam. Top travel motivations: life milestones, foul weather, exploration, time with loved ones and R&R.
Family travel is still booming, and that’s true for immediate family and multi-gen family groups, with ocean cruising, active / adventure and beach resorts all trending.
For cruise travel, the Med, Danube, Alaska, Caribbean and the Greek Isles are top picks. Hardie said Virtuoso clients also over-index on longer cruise trips (two weeks or more).
To read Travelweek’s recent interview with Hardie, click here.
Lead image caption: Prince Adventures’ Jakki Prince, Eleanor Bell with Direct Travel, Georgetown and Luxe Travel by Design’s Erica Tu
