When booking a luxury guided travel experience, most people look forward to the VIP Experiences, immersion in a new culture and exotic adventures. Whether it’s marveling at 3,000 year old artefacts in Egypt, or riding the Glacier Express in Switzerland, the idea of the destination is what captures you first.

What few people realize that’s it’s also an opportunity to make lifelong friends. Whether joining a group as a couple, solo or even with your family, there’s a high possibility that you’ll connect with your fellow travelers and find common ground with people from other countries or states.

When you look back on your travels, you’ll remember those far flung places, but it’s likely each memory will be enhanced by the people you met on that journey. Friendships are forged through experiences and when you’re enjoying yourself away from the pressures of real life, it’s natural to bond with people. Many of our Luxury Gold guests find that the friends they’ve made last a lifetime, and some guests even choose to travel together again.

Find new friends with Luxury Gold

In fact, it’s easy to make friends on a Luxury Gold tour. Not only are you more likely to meet people with similar interests to you, but you’ll have a Traveling Concierge who can introduce you to your fellow guests. This takes away any awkwardness you may feel, and eases the path towards friendship.

Every Luxury Gold tour involves a Welcome Dinner on your first evening, so you get to know the other passionate travelers. This is a great ice-breaker and a chance to discover who is excited about the same things that you are. You might find someone who has a special interest in visiting Capri to see the Faraglioni Rocks, or someone who can tell you about off the beaten track experiences from a journey they’ve taken previously. In a relaxed environment, you will naturally warm to people so when it’s time for your next activity, you’ll already have people that you’re comfortable talking to.

You’ll also find that your Travelling Concierge becomes your friend on the journey, someone you can always come back to for expert tips on the destination.

Meeting friends from far and near

Travel appeals to all ages and people from different countries. You can’t say one nationality is a definitive traveler, or people from a certain profession are more likely to travel. When you book a luxury tour you’re opening up the possibility to meet people from a different background, that you might never meet in your day-to-day life.

Luxury Gold tours attract people from a variety of countries and cultures. However, every person on these journeys is curious about the world, interested in history, art, food and off the beaten track experiences that they won’t find with any other travel company. It’s likely that you will connect with other people on your tour as you’ve chosen to journey beyond the ordinary and share a taste for the great things in life.

A data mining expert from Sydney, Australia could meet a history professor on the Spain & Portugal in Style tour and discover that they both love the architecture of the Alhambra Palace in Granada. There’s the potential to meet a new friend that lives an hours’ drive away, while you’re both halfway across the world on safari in South Africa. Meeting people who have similar interests is rewarding and it opens you up to their outlook and experience on other things too.

Sharing one of a kind experiences

Luxury Gold offers an abundance of exclusive travel experiences. When you’re experiencing something amazing, such as a private after-hours visit of Doge’s Palace in Venice, your senses are heightened. Sharing this new and exciting experience with your travel companions creates unforgettable memories that you will carry with you for the rest of your life.

Whenever you meet again, you’ll have fantastic experiences to reminisce about. Back home, you’ll know that you always have someone that you can speak to about your adventures, especially if your friends at home don’t share your passion for travel.

It’s common that Luxury Gold travelers meet on one journey and find themselves organising another adventure to a different destination the following year. On one occasion, a Local Expert-guided tour in Arles, following in the footsteps of Van Gogh prompted a discussion about the incredible art to be seen in Rome between three Luxury Gold travelers. After the guests returned home, they booked the Ultimate Italy tour for the following summer with their newfound friends from their travels. This is just one example of how new friends gained on your journey can open you up to new experiences and enrich your life.

Exceptional and immersive experiences

Each journey you take brings a host of new encounters, from sampling oysters freshly shucked straight from the ocean, to meeting the Queen Mother’s favorite bagpiper in Edinburgh. Each time you try something new, you’ll try it alongside your fellow travelers, creating a bond with the people who have shared that moment.

There are no other tours on earth that compare to Luxury Gold. Smaller group sizes allow a better rapport to develop and mean that no one ever gets lost in the crowd. The perfect blend of guided and individual exploration lets you indulge your passions in a way that suits you.

The expertise accumulated from a century in travel allows guests to enjoy unique VIP Experiences, such as an after hours visit to the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where the tsars once lived. Our knowledge and connections benefit our travelers in every detail, from the luxurious hotels hand-picked by our Chairman to the extra special care provided by our Traveling Concierge and Well-Being Director.

Travelers can also connect with the destination more deeply through MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, which are carefully chosen to help our guests journey with purpose and discover local initiatives that have a positive impact on their communities. Making a difference is a powerful feeling that can provoke deeper reflections with your newfound friends.

New journeys, New friends

As the world opens its borders once more, many are eager to expand their horizons. Meeting new people has been out of the ordinary for some time, but the opportunities are returning. Why not turn your travels into gold with a last minute special for Summer 2021? It’s time to indulge your passion for exploring again and you’ll likely meet some new friends along the way.

Image credit: Jacki Lo

Usually the first step of embarking on a Luxury Gold journey is a long-haul flight to the location of you’ve been dreaming about. We understand that you might be weary of traveling at the moment if you’re wondering if it is safe to take an airplane. Well, we’ve got some good news to share with you. Not only is there promising news of effective Covid-19 vaccines in the pipeline there has been extensive research on the risk of contracting Covid-19 on airplanes and it is low!

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have released a paper on their ongoing study of strategies and practices to reduce the public health risks of flying during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their robust research demonstrates that airflow and HEPA filters in aircraft make your risk of contracting the virus whilst traveling less than that of a grocery store or indoor restaurant. In fact because of the frequent exchange of air and HEPA filters on planes, over 99% of the particles containing the virus are removed from cabin air.

They’ve also shown that other measures taken by airports and airlines such as:

• Universal wearing of facemasks by passengers and crew throughout the journey
• Distancing protocols and provision of strong ventilation during boarding and deplaning
• Disinfection of high-touch aircraft surfaces to remove contamination
• Passenger attestations that they do not have COVID-19 related symptoms and commitment to adhere to airline mask policy have decreased the risk to a near negligible level.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) Medical Advisor, Dr. David Powell says “The risk of a passenger contracting COVID-19 while onboard appears very low. With only 44 identified potential cases of flight-related transmission among 1.2 billion travelers, that’s one case for every 27 million travelers. We recognize that this may be an underestimate but even if 90% of the cases were un-reported, it would be one case for every 2.7 million travelers. We think these figures are extremely reassuring.  Furthermore, the vast majority of published cases occurred before the wearing of face coverings inflight became widespread,”.  Read more here.

Why is sitting next to someone on a plane low risk?

It’s unlikely an infected passenger will even get to sit next to you. Government health screening and departure biosafety measures minimize this virus-carrying droplets are unlikely to reach you:

• Cabin air flows downwards and is fully renewed with fresh air every 2-3 minutes
• Personal overhead ventilation can strengthen airflow downward
• All passengers face forwards, not at each other
• Masks are a proven and effective barrier

At Luxury Gold we are optimistic that soon travel will return to its golden age and that our valued guests will have journeys that are not just exceptional but also a force for good. We believe that travel brings people together and that to make travel matter is more important than ever.

Safety is Always the Top Priority

At Luxury Gold we’ve always had your health and well-being as a priority. Now more than ever traveling with the confidence that all hygiene protocols are strictly adhered to so you can sit back, relax and enjoy your tour is crucial. That is why we’ve introduced our NEW Well-Being Director on every trip in 2021. They will ensure social distancing, delivery of enhanced hygiene protocols and liaise with all suppliers and partners so you can enjoy your journey with personalized time and space. You’ll be able to relax, knowing that someone is attending to all the details.

Find out more on the Well-Being Director in this short video.

A Luxury Gold journey is supported by a dedicated, professional and highly trained team both on the road and by a global office-based operations team. We are talking to Jillian Gattrell our Director of Operations for Luxury Gold who will be sharing our latest innovation the Luxury Gold Well-Being Director.

Can you please introduce yourself and give us an insight into your role? 

My name is Jillian Gattrell and I am the Director of Operations for Luxury Gold. I’m currently based in the London office of The Travel Corporation and have been with the company for close to 15 years in a number of differing roles. In my current position I am responsible for overseeing the smooth operations of our Luxury Gold trips. This ranges from Traveling Concierge training and management, supporting the on-the-road team during journeys and dealing with crisis situations.

Can you tell us how Covid-19 has impacted operations for Luxury Gold? 

As you may know in the beginning of the year borders in Europe were shut nearly overnight which led to us repatriating guests home at incredibly short notice. Assessing the situation as it was evolving, The Travel Corporation’s leadership team then deciding to suspend all operations to ensure we were staying true to our ethos of putting the guest’s experience at the heart of everything we do. As we don’t have trips on the road currently my team is working hard to adapt to our new normal for when journeys restart.

What would you say to guests who would like to travel but might have some concerns traveling in the pandemic? 

Firstly, I am sympathetic. This year has been incredibly challenging on a number of fronts, but I am one of those people who always sees the positive in any situation. In recent weeks we’ve heard of promising vaccines and in some countries infection rates are coming down.

Travel ignites our imaginations, lets us share in authentic experiences with locals and, when on a guided tour, with like-minded individuals in a group setting. I think focusing on the positives of travel and what it brings to us is paramount to getting over the first hurdle of planning a trip. There has recently been research that suggests that it is less likely to contract Covid-19 on a plane than by going grocery shopping12. What I would also like to stress is that at Luxury Gold we have always had very strict protocols on safety and hygiene.

Can you please go into more details about Hygiene Protocols & Distancing? 

• PRE-TOUR HEALTH DECLARATION

All team members and guests will complete a personal well-being declaration before joining their tour. If a guest has tested positive for COVID-19 (or is traveling with someone who has), they will not be able to join the tour until cleared as “fit for travel” by a medical professional.

• SMALLER GROUPS, MORE PERSONAL SPACE  

With our smaller groups and uniquely reconfigured coaches with fewer seats, you can travel as part of a social travel bubble and still maintain your physical distance and benefit from more personal space.

• AIR FILTERS 

Our coaches are equipped with air filters that are inspected and cleaned daily and replaced regularly. The on-board filters help purify the air as you travel.

• QUALITY ASSURANCE

Quality checks will ensure that all travel partners meet local regulations and the established TTC, WTTC and WHO.

• HYGIENE EQUIPMENT 

Hand sanitizer is accessible and freely available. We ask that you bring your own face mask and gloves, but in the case of emergency, personal protective equipment will be distributed to you.

• SANITIZED SURFACES 

All frequently touched surfaces inside your coach — including handrails, doors, tables, overhead lockers — plus your luggage handles, will be disinfected multiple times each day.

• VIP ACCESS 

Visit landmark sites before and after hours, when they’re not open to the other travelers, so you can explore in a small group and maintain your physical distance

Our Traveling Concierge and drivers have been trained to the highest standards and now will have an extra team member to ensure the delivery of our enhanced hygiene protocols, the Well-Being Director.

Can you please introduce the Well-Being Director? 

There will be a Well-Being Director on each of our Luxury Gold Trips in 2021 in all regions*. They are an industry first, brilliantly conceived by our Chairman, Mr. Stanley Tollman. Using his great experience in the travel and leisure industry he understood that our Traveling Concierge need to provide our guests with outstanding experiences, our drivers with the task at hand when we go back on the road and therefore we needed an extra team member to look after our guests’ well-being and support them in navigating travel during the pandemic.

How does the Well-Being Director help with the new normal that we’re in?  

The Well-Being Director takes a proactive approach to guests’ welfare and dedicates their attention to the latest hygiene and physical distancing protocols throughout a journey. Up to date with the latest regulations from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC),  World Health Organization (WHO)  and local government authorities, they are always available to overcome any concerns. The Well-Being Director will support your Traveling Concierge and driver in making your holiday perfect for you, so you have peace of mind to enjoy your experience fully. The Well-Being Director will always be available to you and ready to answer any questions or concerns relating to your well-being. They’ll be specially trained to provide you with latest information on international developments and guidelines that contribute to your well-being while traveling.

How can the Well-Being Director give confidence to our guests to join one of our journeys?  

The Well-Being Director will undertake daily monitoring and health checks of all guests, as well as the Traveling Concierge and driver. They’ll also support the driver in daily sanitization of the coach and ensure all hygiene, physical distancing and well-being regulations are met each day.

Will the Well-Being Director deal with Luxury Gold’s suppliers? 

As part of The Travel Corporation (TTC), we’ve strengthened our already high health and hygiene standards, reflecting our 100 years of guided vacation and hospitality experience. Our latest protocols are aligned with the guidelines provided by the WTTC and WHO. The Well-Being Director is responsible for checking that all hotels, restaurants and other venues that you will visit on your holiday meet these expected standards.

Some of our guests might be worried about sanitization of luggage, can you speak to that? 

The Well-Being Director will provide personal support with luggage management throughout a guest’s holiday, ensuring all handles are sanitized during loading and unloading.

What other services will the Well-Being Director offer? 

The Well-Being Director is also available to help with spa and beauty appointments at the hotel and to lead early risers on wellness walks as fitting within the itineraries.

Lastly, could you please share a personal learning from these past months? 

Our Chairman says ‘This too shall pass’ and although we would like for Covid-19 to disappear so we can all get back to doing the things we love, I know that even if the disease isn’t eradicated the saying stays true. I don’t have the same length of experience as Mr. Stanley Tollman but I have lived through other big disruptions in travel such as the Volcanic Plume of 2010 or even the SARS outbreak in the early 2000s, or, other incidents to know that ultimately travel will survive and thrive because it is what brings people together. The perfect cure for the upheaval of 2020? Planning your next Luxury Gold journey! 

Learn More About the Steps Luxury Gold and TTC are taking to give you Peace of Mind on our Well-Being pages of the website.