Michigan was a slice of seafaring influence at the 38thannual Virtuoso Travel Week in early August in Las Vegas.
Virtuoso.com provides access to 20,000 worldwide, human luxury travel advisors who, for their clients, secure rare experiences and amenities. They also provide privileged access to 2,800 of the world’s best hotels, resorts, cruise lines, tour companies and destinations in 58 counties. They were all represented via the 4,000 participants during Virtuoso Travel Week.
Karen Fedorko Sefer was born in Lansing and now lives amid the mosques and museums of Istanbul’s old city. That’s where she guides guests on custom cruises via Sea Song Tours, a company she founded 27 years ago.
“We have Michigan people coming to Turkiye all the time,” she told me. “Sea Song shows them the historic, cultural sites, such as the Grand Bazaar, and we walk the neighborhoods of Istanbul to find a special spot for Turkish coffee and cuisine.”
Fedorko Sefer said Sea Song also arranges private yacht tours on Istanbul’s Bosphorus River, which divides Europe and Asia. She mentioned that guests can expect, once out of the city and into the countryside, colorful hot-air ballon rides over the lunar-like landscape of Cappadocia as well as options to explore underground cave churches, taste Turkish wine and experience the ancient Roman city of Ephesus. Sea Song arranges custom itineraries to satisfy the special interests of guests.
“They can travel in the steps of Saint Paul, and Turkiye has all the seven churches of Revelation,” Fedorko Sefer said. Historical inhabitants also include the Blessed Mother, Saint Paul and Noah’s Ark. Modern history, she insists, is not disputing travel.
“Turkiye is safe,” Fedorko Sefer said. “The situation in the Middle East has not affected us.”
Sea Song specializes in small ship sailing trips along the Aegean and Turkish coastlines aboard traditional, Turkish, handcrafted vessels with a chartered captain, crew and chef. Think snorkeling, sunbeds, champagne, and freshly-picked almonds.
The small size of American Cruise Lines’ ships also allows for access to a diminutive dock, such as at Mackinac Island’s, according to CEO Charles Robertson. His fleet, the nation’s leader in river and coastal cruising, now includes a Great Lakes sailing itinerary.
“Mackinac Island is a highlight – a big draw,” said Robertson at Virtuoso Travel Week. Escanaba, Alpena, Sault Ste. Marie and Muskegon are also stops, as is the Detroit River on some itineraries.
“Guests can step off and visit the Detroit Institute of Arts, Motown Museum and Henry Ford Museum in the Motor City,” Robertson said.
Virtuoso.com presented travel industry trends and data drawn from the network’s proprietary surveys, which showed that Virtuoso-advised clients are traveling later in the year to enjoy destinations.
“Fall is the new summer, with bookings up 79-percent,” said Misty Belles, Virtuoso’s executive global PR VP. Be warned, though, so-called “shoulder season” has shed its bargain reputation.
“Luxury international hotels now average $1,653 a night. And luxury U.S. hotels are $1,445, up from $985 and $790 in 2019. Rates at French Riviera hotels are highest: up 179%.”
Hawaii-based Stephanie Maklakie participated in a panel discussion of Virtuoso advisors.
“Our clients are willing to invest in travel,” Maklakie said. “Anywhere that elicits emotion — the Arctic, African safaris, Nordic countries and solitude on yachts with no phone.”
Taiwan-based Nicole Li agreed and said her clients tell her, “It is what it is. We’re going anyway … so we pay more.”
But Josie Turner, an advisor from England, in defense of her clients, pointed out the practical.
“If you’re paying $1,000 per night and the orange juice is $25, that’s insulting. Or a delivery fee to get food at the pool is just silly. People are sick of being squeezed.”
Addressing rising rates and add-ons, Barbara Muckerman, the CEO of Kempinski Hotels, which specializes in remaking historical buildings into experiential stays, spoke from the stage at Virtuoso Travel Week’s opening session.
“Real luxury was never about giving everybody everything,” Muckerman said. “It was about recognizing what really matters: what guests want. The right thing, at the right moment. True luxury is real access. We turn our hotels inside out. We’re not a refuge from the city — we give our guests the keys to the city.”
Experiences, and the time to enjoy them, are precious commodities to travelers who are not only booking later in the year, but also further into the future. Global leisure sales two years in advance are up 50%. In terms of leisure time, travelers are also “city-maxxing,” that is, stringing destinations together. Rome-Florence-Venice, for instance, is proving popular, while France with Italy is the most common country pairing.
“ ’Fusion travel’ is becoming valuable to people who go back to a place they love and have an emotional connection with … but are then being wisely advised and encouraged to add on someplace new. Venice to Ljubljana, for instance,” said Virtuoso founder and CEO Matthew Upchurch. “Travel tops the list of what people want to do with their money, so why would you have a financial advisor and not a travel advisor?”
Wellness hotels and longevity tourism are tops with three types: “performance optimizers,” “restoration seekers” and “meaning seekers.” Which one are you? Multi-generational family travel accommodations and offerings, such as cruises or guesthouses, are still sought.
The worldwide network of itinerary advisors and providers at Virtuoso.com suggests travelers, when planning, think beyond “where they go” and first share “how they want to feel” when they get there. Then they let an advisor suggest places.
“Sometimes a thing and place you’ve seen on social media doesn’t exist in reality,” warned Susan Lawson, a Canada-based advisor.
“Being underwhelmed is the worst feeling,” Turner concurred. “Try going someplace you haven’t heard of instead of a place your social media has been inundated with and will be crowded.”
Contact Michael Patrick Shiels at MShiels@aol.com His new book: Travel Tattler – Not So Torrid Tales, may be purchased via Amazon.com Hear his radio talk show on 730 AM 1240 in Lansing weekdays from 3 pm – 6 pm.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Shiels: Michigan people and places among Virtuoso’s vaunted travel tips
Reporting by Michael Patrick Shiels, For the Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Michael Patrick Shiels, For the Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
