The keys to success in today's luxury travel market,
according to Keith Baron, president of Abercrombie & Kent USA, are a firm
commitment to luxury and the ability to change and adapt to the luxury consumer's
evolving needs.
For A&K that has meant enhancing and renewing some of
its products, such as its recently re-engineered Connections by A&K product
line, its lower-priced tours that now put a much greater emphasis on unique
boutique hotel property stays, or by putting a greater focus on custom tours,
an area where the company has seen an uptick in demand lately.
"We're built on a platform of luxury and delivering
extraordinary luxury to travelers around the world, and my intent is to continue
to do that, to keep luxury as the focus, but doing that in a number of
different ways," said Baron, who was named president of Abercrombie &
Kent USA in December after serving as senior vice president of strategic
operations at the company for five years. He succeeded Phil Otterson, who took
on a new role as chairman of Abercrombie & Kent USA.
While it remains committed to its traditional small group,
luxury journeys, Abercrombie & Kent is also enhancing some of its other
product lines.
For instance, for 2018, A&K is bringing back cruises to
Greece, a destination and a mode of travel where the company is seeing increased
interest. A&K hasn't had cruise product in Greece for several years.
It is also continuing to expand its Wings Over the World
portfolio, a product line launched two years ago that incorporates privately
chartered flights for faster, more convenient transportation between
destinations. This is a separate product from its private jet journeys.
As for the popular Connections line, Baron said it was
relaunched this year with a focus on boutique.
"Boutique for us means a focus on boutique properties.
If you look through our Connections portfolio you're not going to find common
hotel brands," he said, adding that the company has also enhanced the
experiential aspects of the product, which has ultimately made it appeal to
travelers across the luxury travel segment that are seeking more authentic
travel experiences, not just those who are interested in the lower price point.
Destinations that A&K is seeing resonate with the luxury
traveler for 2017 and into 2018 include East Africa, which Baron said has
finally rebounded after being challenged for a few years. Additionally, the
company is seeing increases in Australia, the Middle East, Morocco, Egypt, Peru
and Japan.
Europe overall is proving to be a strong destination for
A&K this year, with bookings up in the double digits. Within Europe, Spain
has seen strong growth as well as Germany and England. France has experienced a
solid recovery after being soft for much of 2016, Baron said. The growth leader
for A&K in Europe has actually been Russia, something the company didn't
anticipate, he said. Russia bookings were up double digits in 2016 over 2015,
and sales have more than doubled in 2017 over 2016.
As the industry experiences surprising rises and falls in
destinations based on factors outside of its control, Baron said the key for
tour operators is to be prepared for just about anything.
"Companies have the opportunity to shine or not in the
eyes of agents by the way they react and respond when unexpected situations
arise," he said.