Luxury travel in 2023 is set to be slow, sustainable and immersive. From extended train journeys to memorable encounters with nature and spending longer at each destination, luxury holidaymakers are seeking a more meaningful escape. Research shows that sustainable travel experiences, connecting to the local culture and leaving a positive impact on the places you visit are all high on the travel agenda. We take a look at this gratifying travel trend and show you how our Luxury Gold limited-edition tours can help you tick these boxes.
Travelling slowly, immersively and sustainably is an absolute expectation for luxury travel in 2023. The most recent American Express Global Travel Trends Report revealed widespread changes in the rationale of travelers. 81% of respondents want to visit destinations where they can immerse themselves in the local culture. 78% of respondents expressed a desire to have a positive impact on the community they were visiting. While 62% agreed they wanted to be more thoughtful about where and how they travel.
While travelers are spending on immersive experiences and longer holidays, the luxury traveler is doing so with an increasingly eco-conscious mindset.
Read more: 5 common misconceptions about luxury travel (and why they are wrong)
From timeless train journeys to luxury safaris, there are many ways to enjoy slow and immersive travel on our limited-edition journeys. Defining luxury travel in 2023, picture multi-night stays in magnificent hotels that enable you to unwind and make your time more meaningful with friends a family. Private access to galleries and landmarks away from the crowds, enabling you as a VIP traveler to soak up culture at your own pace. And MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® as you go, the ultimate in immersive responsible travel experiences. Here you can connect to the communities you visit, exchange stories with locals, make a positive impact and create lasting memories.
Read more: 5 benefits of visiting iconic tourist hotspots out of hours
Sustainable travel has long been at the heart of Luxury Gold. And this is brought to life through our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, included on most of our limited-edition tours. Thoughtfully chosen, these experiences offer the chance to immerse yourself deeper in your destination, through its people, nature and wildlife. If you are looking to make time and travel more meaningful, this is a unique opportunity for new learnings. To make lasting connections and leave a positive legacy.
Aligned to the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development, each MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience is carefully selected and assessed for its positive, and long-term impact. Even though the experience might be for just a couple of hours, the memory that you leave with, this feeling of having contributed, stays with you forever.
Read more: How your travels with Luxury Gold help conserve nature for future generations
If traveling slowly, immersively and sustainably sounds like you, then to whet your appetite further here are three of our limited-edition tours, defining luxury travel in 2023.
Meet the Warrior Women and travel aboard the Rocky Mountaineer: On the stunning limited-edition tour Majesty of the Rockies we invite you to explore Western Canada’s treasures. Travel through the majestic Rocky Mountains, spending two luxurious days aboard the Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf Service. Here lose yourself in the most spectacular scenery and take time to reset, admiring nature at its most sublime. The tour also offers a plethora of immersive nature experiences. Including setting foot on a glacier and gentle canyon hikes. Multiple-night stays in the most luxurious mountain retreats allow time to enjoy the amenities, such as golf clubs and spas. This is the ultimate opportunity to relax and absorb the true magnificence of your surroundings, and reflect on the curated experiences you’ve been enjoying.
Read more: Rustic luxury: why Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge is the ultimate mountain escape
In the stunning setting of Jasper National Park, an exclusive invitation and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience awaits. Here you will meet the First Nations Cree Warrior Women from the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, over an intimate fireside meal with a spectacular view of Pyramid Mountain. Learn about Indigenous spirituality, music and drumming as you engage in a fascinating conversation about the aboriginal culture of Canada. Leave enthralled and enlightened with some amazing stories to share with family and friends.
Read more: Uncovering Indigenous history with Canada’s Warrior Women
Discover this on: Majesty of the Rockies
Bask in nature on a three-day safari and support local youth: Experience the magic and wonder of South Africa on Spectacular South Africa. This nine-day luxury tour features an extended stay at the 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa in Cape Town. And a three-day safari with a stay in a memorable bush lodge. Enjoy spectacular sunsets over Cape Town and view the city from atop Table Mountain. In Kruger National Park, adventure out on a private open-air safari in search of some of the earth’s most magnificent beasts. Led by professional trackers, this once-in-a-lifetime experience unfolds the largest game reserve in South Africa.
Read more: Where the wilderness and luxury combine: step inside the Lion Sands Game Reserve
On the UNESCO World Heritage site of Robben Island, enjoy the opportunity to connect to the young people of the area as you join a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at the Amy Foundation. Here you will meet people from the foundation and see first-hand how the lives of vulnerable young people are being transformed through a variety of empowering programs. This is a unique opportunity to see the area through a different lens. And, through your visit, contribute to the important work taking place and give something back.
On Robben Island, you’ll have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sit down with Christo Brand. As former prison guard to Nelson Mandela, you’ll be treated to fascinating stories about one of history’s most inspirational figures.
Read more: Meet Christo Brand, former prison guard to Nelson Mandela
Discover this on: Spectacular South Africa
Journey aboard the Glacier Express and discover sustainable transport: From St. Moritz to Zermatt and onto Geneva, Majestic Switzerland offers a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary across one of Europe’s most sustainable destinations. Take your first-class seat onboard the Glacier Express, a spectacular and sustainable way to travel through the Swiss Alps. Marvel at unrivaled views of snow-covered peaks, alpine villages and the Rhine Gorge, known as the Grand Canyon of Switzerland. Ride Europe’s highest open-air cogwheel train to the summit of the mountain. Glimpse of some of Switzerland’s highest peaks, Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn. Then take all the time you need to wander the art-filled halls of the Rosengart Collection on an after-hours private tour. Relax, reflect and enjoy this special time surrounded by the masterpieces of Chagall, Renoir, Kandinksy and Picasso.
Read more: Geneva’s Hotel D’Angleterre is a hotel committed to positive change
@verkehrshaus
An inspirational MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience lies in store at the Swiss Transport Museum. From luxe Monteverdi cars to alpine trains, discover Switzerland’s fascinating transportation and energy systems and innovations with your Local Expert. Learn about sustainable energy and fossil fuel alternatives. Chart the history of alternative transport methods, from horses and steam to electric and solar power. As well as a fascinating tour, this experience will leave you educated, and inquisitive to learn more.
Read more: Majestic Switzerland through the lens of a travel concierge
Discover this on: Majestic Switzerland
If you’re looking for the ultimate in luxury travel in 2023, take a look at the full Luxury Gold collection of limited-edition tours.
Eating what’s in season celebrates the best of what’s fresh as well as benefits your health and the environment. What is seasonal eating? One of our Luxury Gold hosts who’s happy to answer that question and who lives, breathes—and cooks—this philosophy is Tracey of Tracey’s Farmhouse. We’d like to introduce you to Tracey and the warm, home-hosted meal and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience you can expect in her cottage on our Ultimate Ireland tour. As we celebrated World Food Day on October 16th, a chat with Tracey highlights why eating what’s in season is so important.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
In Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough just a half hour from Belfast, you can find Tracey stepping out of her 17th Century thatched cottage on the water’s edge to greet arriving guests. With an easy smile and the aim to “make the guests feel as much at home as I can,” Tracey extends a heartfelt welcome. Once inside Tracey’s cozy home, guests sit down to coffee, tea and Soda Bannock freshly baked.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
After settling in, Tracey offers a 15–20-minute demonstration of how to make traditional Irish soda bread. With just two ingredients—buttermilk and flour—that aren’t weighed or measured, Tracey’s recipe is a testament to how a few fresh, local ingredients are all you need for a delicious dish. One or two guests lend a hand as Tracey cooks the bread on the griddle. Guests can also get involved in making lunch before the meal is shared. The fresh-off-the griddle bread is topped with butter “from a little farm down the road” that was even used for Harry and Megan’s wedding. Paired with the best of what’s in season, a meal at Tracey’s Farmhouse is a congenial feast celebrating the best of what’s good right here, right now.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
Beyond the fresh baked bread, local butter and hearty meal, Tracey comments that guests say, “we feel we’ve shared your home with you.” The family atmosphere is what makes the experience and what Tracey deliberately weaves into the visit. She takes guests down to her garden and gives them the opportunity to pick eggs and help with the hens. “They love the interaction with the animals,” she notes. A visit to Tracey’s Farmhouse is the type of authentic travel experience guests seek out but can be hard to find. Tracey provides this experience—while supporting seasonal eating.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
Why is eating what’s in season important? “The taste alone,” Tracey explains. “When you eat broccoli and cauliflower that hasn’t been flown in, the ingredients sing for themselves. They don’t need a sauce or a sprinkling of herbs.” From garden vegetables to that delicious butter from down the road, Tracey says, “I try to work with what I have and … base my menu around what’s available.” Eating what’s in season also supports the local producers, shops and the environment. “Because it’s seasonal then those foods are locally obtained” and “you’re cutting out travel.”
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
Those locally obtained foods do a lot for our health, too. Foods that require travel to get to their destination often need additives or processing. When you’re eating seasonally, “you don’t have all the preservatives or additives,” Tracey points out. Tracey’s two-ingredient Irish soda bread is a perfect example. Because of the fresh, local ingredients and absence of preservatives, it may only be good for two days. But those two days of enhanced fresh flavors are worth her while. In fact, from tarts and cakes to soups and salads, Tracey’s always cooking up something for herself and her guests.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
So, of course we had to ask Tracey what’s in season now. At the time of this conversation, an abundance of blackberries and black currents are keeping Tracey busy whipping up pies, tarts, crumbles and cakes of all kinds. For lunch and dinner fare, a bowl of homemade soup using vegetables from the garden accompanied by homemade bread is just right. Our mouths watering, we asked Tracey what’s good the rest of the year.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
As we move into cooler weather, you may be wondering what to eat in autumn. Tracey expects a good crop of Kohlrabi, cabbage and apples she’ll use in a crumble. Rhubarb is especially good in late summer and early fall as Tracey comments, “Your guests seem to love the idea of rhubarb.”
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
Winter in Northern Ireland brings chestnuts, Brussel sprouts and root vegetables that will make their way into savory tarts and soups. Deciding what to eat in winter can be as simple as digging a bit in the dirt to find that brightly colored carrot, beet or parsnip.
What to eat in spring is easily answered with a hearty crop of spring greens perfect for salads. The rhubarb that Luxury Gold guests have come to love also makes its first appearance in spring.
Tracey tackles what to eat in summer by cooking lighter fare from simple salads to tarts using vegetables from the garden. Some of her favorites are spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot leaves, nasturtium flower, radishes and red onion.
@traceysfarmhousekitchen
It may come as no surprise that in Northern Ireland potatoes are a favorite local staple all year long. Tracey has a particular spring favorite, the Comber Earlies. These small potatoes are so tasty on their own. All Tracey says you need to do is “wipe the soil off and steam with a little bit of salt with scallion or spring onions.” Sounds delicious to me, Tracey. We hope to see you at Tracey’s Farmhouse soon.
Where will your Britain and Ireland travels take you?
