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ILTM Americas, the luxury travel event being held Sept. 28-Oct. 1 in Mayakoba on Mexico's Riviera Maya, will welcome 285 luxury travel agents catering to a new generation of international travelers from North and Central America who are younger, more global minded, tech-savvy and high spending.
Some 73 percent of the agents attending ILTM Americas this year will be new to ILTM events overall. They will have access to a series of high-end travel experiences throughout the globe.
By 2017, travelers from Mexico alone are expected to spend $7 billion when traveling abroad. Americans spent $112 billion while traveling abroad last year, up 7 percent more than the previous year and this is expected to rise significantly in the coming years.
"ILTM Americas handpicks and hosts 285 agents from only the booming North and Central American source markets, where both the young and even the more mature luxury travelers tend to be more adventurous, health conscious, and of course technology driven," said Simon Mayle, event manager for ILTM Americas. "It is the only event to directly connect global luxury travel suppliers with this valuable new generation of travel buyers from the U.S. and Mexico."
Mayle said this is a new era of luxury travel where personalization is key and brands are now less about the hotels themselves and more about the experiences they offer across the world. "Many of these brands have come to ILTM Americas to introduce very diverse and very real guest experiences to agents whose clients are wealthy, globally educated, and passionate about travel," he said.
More than 33 countries are represented at this year's ILTM Americans, with a wide variety of luxury travel offerings. Experiences include Hamilton Island's Qualia Resort on Australia's Great Barrier Reef with a spectacular golf course and spa; multi-cultural and adventure tours of Georgia; trekking in Nepal; history and heritage at Heckfield Place in Hampshire, U.K.; and contemporary luxury and spa experiences at the Vidago Palace in Portugal and Casa San Agustin in Cartegena, Colombia.
And since gastronomy continues to define the agendas of today's luxury travelers, new exhibitors within this sector at ILTM Americas include wine and culinary travel designers Paladar y Tomar, specializing in bespoke cultural, wine, food and lifestyle tours.
"ILTM Americas promises to deliver up to 15,000 15-minute appointments for participating luxury travel suppliers to meet with a new generation of luxury travel agent," said Mayle. "We are delighted to be able to extend the event to welcome even more high end products from new sectors and meet the vigorous demand from our discerning buyers."
For more information on registration for suppliers and buyers, click on ILTM Americas.
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