I was intrigued by this new trend in luxury travel - made me think more about exploring innovative yet appropriate luxury alliances for my clients. Wilna 

Luxury travel trends: airlines' luxury brand partnerships. In their efforts to lure business- and first-class passengers, airlines are partnering with luxury brands to revive the glamour of flying.
By Lola Pedro

Fabergé jewellery for sale on selected VistaJet flights Photo: Fabergé

Budget flights have made holidays accessible to many, but at the other end of the spectrum collaborations between airlines and luxury brands are gaining ground as a way to ensure luxury travel experiences remain a coveted status symbol. By integrating and flaunting the expertise of other luxury brands that align with their overall identity, airlines are providing the very best travel experience possible or, at the very least, boosting their own brand calibre and consolidating their reputation as purveyors of quality.

Today’s discerning premium travellers appreciate collaborations that address their travel needs or are exciting enough to catalyze patronage, especially when the brands feel appropriately matched. Positioning itself as a brand that likes to ‘challenge the status quo and stand out from the crowd’, Virgin Atlantic’s synergy with Vivienne Westwood is so apparent that it is almost unsurprising that the airline recently announced that the British fashion label is to design all its staff uniforms.

Consumers are readily embracing these new brand clusters. In the case of luxury travel, flights are an ideal platform to showcase and offer the best of other brands’ products. Limiting these perks to premium cabins and making these branded offerings exclusive also provide the flyer with a compelling story that continues long after the flight has landed.

Here are some recent examples of how airlines have been teaming up with other brands, combining the best from multiple worlds and delivering exceptional products and experiences to their premium passengers:


Exclusive Fabergé jewellery only available on VisaJet flights

• March 2013 saw Fabergé launch a collaborative project, Egg Miles, with private-jet charter firm VistaJet. As part of the project, the jewellery brand commissioned British artist Ian Davenport to create a special design based on Fabergé’s tradition and heritage for the tail of VistaJet planes. Over a three-week period, a range of limited-edition, egg-shaped Fabergé pendants were also available to passengers on board VistaJet flights, priced from $7,900 (£5,000).
  

Michelin-starred chef designs menu for Air France 

• From February 2013, Air France business-class fliers have been served dishes designed by Michelin-starred chef Michel Roth. The eight-month promotion will allow passengers to choose from six main dishes, with menu options changing twice each month. The gourmet menu is available on all long-haul flights from Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.
  

Delta partners with Westin Hotels on in-flight amenities

• In February 2013, Delta announced a partnership with Westin Hotels to provide business-class passengers with in-flight amenities. The hospitality brand will create special ‘Heavenly Bed’ blankets and pillows, which will be available on transcontinental US flights. Passengers with journeys of over 12 hours will also be offered Heavenly Bed lumbar pillows during their flight.
  

Marimekko and Finnair unveil design collaboration

• In 2012, Finnish design brand Marimekko announced a partnership with national airline Finnair. All of the airline’s planes will feature a specially designed collection of textiles and tableware, and two long-haul aircraft will feature Marimekko-designed livery. During the three-year collaboration, an exclusive selection of Marimekko products will be available to purchase in-flight and at the Finnair Plus Shop.
  

Twinings creates specialist blend tea for British Airways

• In February 2013, English tea brand Twinings launched British Airways Signature Blend, a specialist-blend tea bag commissioned by the airline. The tea blend is available to passengers on all BA flights, however premium cabin passengers can exclusively enjoy the Whole Leaf Silky Pyramids range, which includes specialty teas such as Red Berry Fool, Jasmine Pearls, Mint Humbug and Honeycomb Camomile.
  

Dr. Hauschka skincare treatments launched in Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse spas

• Virgin Atlantic recently announced its partnership with luxury natural beauty brand Dr. Hauschka. From August 2013, premium passengers travelling through Virgin Clubhouses in selected UK airports can experience a holistic range of treatments from Dr. Hauschka-trained therapists. Travel-sized products, including balms, scents and essential oils will also be available for purchase in the Clubhouse Spa shop.
  

Designer uniforms, branded holistic spas and Michelin-starred haute cuisine menus are just the beginning. Soon we will see luxury travel companies reaching even further out of their industry, potentially partnering with more obscure brands and investigating what these more experimental collaborations can offer them and their customers.

Lola Pedro is a senior industry analyst at London-based trend firmtrendwatching.com. One of the world's leading trend firms, it monitors and reports on emerging consumer trends, insights and innovations. You can follow its latest reports on Twitter @trendwatching.


Article from Telegraph UK  :

The Baby Boomers are alive and travelling the world. It was interesting to read some of their travel behaviour. Make sure you address them in your marketing campaigns! Wilna 


The Hottest Trends In Boomer Travel 
By Suzanne Gerber, Editor for Living & Learning channel for Next Avenue

How much do baby boomers love to travel? According to industry research, we spend $157 billion on trips every year and many polls rank travel as our No. 1 leisure activity.

Recently, the Preferred Hotel Group teamed up with Harrison Group, a marketing research firm, to learn more about boomers’ travel preferences. “This generation is passionate about travel and want to have fun, says Lindsey Ueberroth, hotel group president. “And for professionals that are not focusing on this, it will be their mistake.”

While it’s hard to make generalizations about 78 million individuals (especially this trailblazing demographic), pundits do point to certain trends among boomer travelers. To give you some inspiration for the 3.7 statistical trips you’ll take in the next year, here are seven of the hottest trends among our peers.

1. Ecotourism 
Green is the new black when it comes to vacations. The U.N. World Tourism Organization predicts there will be some 1.6 billion eco-inspired trips taken by 2020. But all operators are not created equal. It’s important to do your homework and find a company that works closely with local residents to benefit them. True ecotourism isn’t just zip-lining through the jungle. It helps the local economy and is sustainable. An important fringe benefit: Local LOCM -4.24% residents come to appreciate the inherent value of their natural resources — rain forests, nature preserves, waterways, coral reefs — and realize that they must be protected and preserved. (MORE: Volunteer Vacations: How to Be Sure You’re Helping)

2. Adventure 
As boomers, we don’t think of ourselves as aging. Plenty of us are in as good shape as when we were in our 20s and some are in even better condition. We’ve always been up for a challenge. As a result, adventure travel — kayaking, cycling, hiking, scuba diving, skiing, mountain climbing — is enjoying popularity among the 50+ crowd. Vacation packagers are adding more categories every year specifically targeted to this generation.

Before you book such a trip, make sure you’re clear about the level of fitness required and what kind of emergency backup the company offers. Check with your health care practitioner to help you realistically assess whether the trip is appropriate for you. (MORE: Sail on a Special Cruise Along Turkey’s Turquoise Coast)

3. Medical Tourism 
This $40 billion-a-year-trend is mostly spurred by the high costs of medical procedures in the United States. Just compare these national averages: Heart bypass here, $144,000; in Israel, $27,500. Hip replacement here, $50,000; in India, $7,000. Colonoscopy here, $3,000; in Mexico, $800. Dental implants, $2,800 per tooth vs. $900 in Costa Rica; lasik eye surgery: $4,400 vs. $477 in Malaysia.

Care in the leading countries is usually as good as, if not superior to, what you’d get in the United States — and there is oversight. The nonprofit Joint Commission of the United States, which accredits American health care facilities, has an international division that accredits hospitals around the world; most Americans choose one of those 500 centers. Plan properly and you can combine your surgery with an exotic vacation!

4. Multigenerational 
According to top travel companies, multigenerational family trips account for more than 10 percent of their entire business. Dan Austin, director of Austin-Lehman Adventures, says they’ve seen a tenfold increase in custom trips in recent years. “Groups range in size from as few as four to as many as 24 family members,” he says.

It takes some research and good planning to make sure everyone is comfortable and has fun. But do it right and you’ll have memories to share that will last a lifetime.

5. Bucket List 
We’re at that age where we feel young — but are also realistic about that ticking clock. While some people have been smart/lucky enough to start checking items off their bucket list for years, many of us are only now getting the right combination of time and money to live out our dreams. For some it’s visiting an ancestor’s homeland; for others it’s exotic destinations, like the Galapagos, Tahiti, Patagonia, a tour of European capitals or, as it was for me, Machu Picchu. I finally got to take my long-awaited fantasy trip — and wrote about it in hopes of inspiring others to do something similar.

6. Passions 
At midlife, people enjoy combining their passions with wish-list destinations. They might learn a new language before visiting a country where it’s spoken by natives, learn to cook in Italy, follow the chocolate trail through Europe or taste wine in California.Douglas Grimes, president and founder of MIR Corp., which blends travel and the pursuit of passion, says most of his clients are over 55 — and there’s been a huge uptick in the number of clients over 70 in the past seven years. “Boomers have a drive for self-improvement,” he says. “They come from a work-centric era. The natural extension of this is, ‘How can I grow, learn more, expand my knowledge?’”

7. Spiritual 
While studies show that 90 percent of travel in this category is undertaken by Christians — to holy sites across the globe — there’s another type of nondenominational spiritual travel. Boomers flock to sites like Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, temples and yoga retreat centers (ashrams) in India, Central American Indian ruins, Australian Outback and “power vorteces,” like Point Lobos, Calif., and Sedona, Ariz.

Sometimes it’s not just where but how you travel that adds a spiritual dimension. You don’t have to climb the Himalayas to bring a deeper meaning to your trip. You can deliberately unplug from email and your phone, move slowly or stay in one place, engage in self-reflection or return to a place of profound natural beauty time and again. Seeing life, and ourselves, in new contexts and from different perspectives, is, after all, one of the abiding gifts of travel.

Suzanne Gerber is the editor of the Living & Learning channel for Next Avenue. Follow Suzanne on Twitter @gerbersuzanne.
Article from Forbes 

Enjoy this fun video of one man's light-hearted journey through Namibia - experiencing her diverse landscapes and unique people! Really worth a watch!

Here are a few more social media tips to keep you in the game! - Wilna 



12 Essential Tips To Get Social Media Traction 
ERIC V. HOLTZCLAW 

Whether your company sells cookies, widgets, or consulting sessions, social media can be a force--and it's not as hard as you think.

I am still amazed at the number of companies that use social media badly (or ignore it altogether).  The rules of social media are simple, and if you ignore it you the risk the fate that befell those who ignored the telephone in the late 19th century and the Internet at the end of the 20th.

If you're just getting started, you're late--but you can still catch up. And I'm not just talking about trendy, consumer-facing companies. A study published in February by the CEB's Marketing Leadership Council reported that 57 percent of B-to-B buyers research your company on their own online before they pick up the phone or email you for a sales pitch or more information. This stark reality makes it more important that you embrace social media--now.

Here are some simple tips I have learned as I have worked to master social media for my different enterprises:

1. Start
This is huge. Don't be afraid: jump in. Yes, your first posts will be awkward, but you have to start somewhere.

2. It Takes Time
Many business owners I meet who are new to social media get frustrated with it too quickly. Building an authentic and engaged audience takes time. Don't allow yourself to get snowed under by frustration--think of it as you would building any part of your business. Being patient is important to the success of this effort.

3. Don't Try to Do Everything
Find the channel that feels the most natural and focus on it. I love Twitter and use it all the time. The short bursts and speed of information fit my style. I am a casual visitor to other social media channels and will often share what I learn in those avenues back to my first love, Twitter.

4. Be Helpful
Share content or information that you find helpful. If you are reading an article on a site or attending a conference and you find a piece of content compelling, others will too.

5. Don't Focus on Feedback
Don't be worried about getting responses. I am always amazed when I run into people who regularly read my updates and find them useful, but never respond to me.

6. Share Something Personal
Especially if you are tweeting from your own account. I often tweet about the funny things my daughter says and does--she's affectionately known as "Teen" to my followers. These updates let others know that there is a person behind my account.

7. Avoid Social Media Blindness
As a business owner, only tweet things you have read. Resist the temptation to set up a feed that tweets everything related to a topic or an interest. Not only can this be very annoying to your followers, it lessens your credibility. It's embarrassing when someone asks you about your opinion on something you shared and you have no idea what they're talking about.

8. Ask for Advice
A secret tip that has worked for me is both asking for advice from others and intentionally looking to answer questions posed across social media. This is a great way to learn about a topic and start a dialogue with someone new.

9. Say Thank You
It's true in life and it's true on Twitter: If someone takes the time to retweet something you post--certainly if they take the time to make a specific comment--a simple thank you back goes a long way.

10. Pay Attention
It's about lasting connections: If someone you follow posts something that interests you or moves you, be sure to reach out.

11. Encourage Sharing
Especially when you use Twitter, leave room for other people's comments. You think 120 characters is tough? Well, the ideal tweet is 120 character or fewer.  Simply using the words "share this" have proven to be a strong call to action.

12. It's About All of You
Nobody likes spam. When users decide whether to follow you, most evaluate the totality of your social media account. They will look at your last page or so of updates. They want to see that you are interesting, engaged, and that what you share is useful.

ERIC V. HOLTZCLAW, author of Laddering, is CEO and founder of Laddering Works, a marketing and product strategy firm. Holtzclaw’s weekly radio show, The "Better You" Project, shines a spotlight on entrepreneurs’ business journey. about.me/eholtzclaw@eholtzclaw