A Meeting of the Luxury Minds

To be invited to attend not just one, but two Luxury Travel Markets – each on a different continent – has been an acknowledgement and affirmation of my expertise in selling luxury travel.

In December of 2012, I was invited to Cannes, France (think the Cannes Film Festival) to the International Luxury Travel Mart (ILTM), a prestigious event that brings together vendors who specialize in upscale, unique and luxury products … and those travel agents who sell a high volume of luxury-related travel to their clients. For three days I was scheduled for continuous 20-minute appointments which included vendors I had selected, as well as those who had requested time with me.

Evenings were spent participating in networking events, meeting and mingling with luxury buyers and sellers from all over the world. If you can dream it, there is probably a vendor or entity that can provide it, whether it is luxury yachting, private islands in some far-off exotic sea or cars we only see in the movies, etc.

Because I was invited to arrive a few days early to experience the Cannes area in depth, I had the opportunity to tour the most prestigious suites in town and experience out-of-this-world culinary events. Another special treat was visiting the island of Ile Saint-Honorat, home to a monastery built in 410AD, where a community of monks has lived since that time. These monks have a vineyard on their island and tend to their own winery – just as they have done for centuries; I very much enjoyed my touring and wine-tasting here.

In addition to this ILTM opportunity, please check out my Luxperience (Australia Luxury Market) story, also in this profile.