Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch joins Bruce to talk about international luxury travel in thepost-pandemic world. Virtuoso is a leading name in luxury travel with a network of nearly20,000 advisors worldwide. As people were stuck at home, many of those travel advisors—a term Upchurch much prefers to ‘travel agents’—pivoted to help their clients plan big-tickettrips in the distant future. But as borders open, Upchurch says Virtuoso is seeingunprecedented demand for this summer and beyond.

Now that we’re ready to venture internationally again, how will we do it, where will wego, and what will we find? Will we return to our favorite destinations—some of which we were guilty of loving too much in what Upchurch calls the pre-pandemic Golden Age of Travel—or will we take advantage of our renewed freedoms to explore new and off-the-beaten-path destinations? Upchurch dives into issues of over-tourism, the lasting impacts of the pandemic, which destinations are booming—and which ones aren’t—and the fundamental question of why people travel for leisure. He also shares some of his own travel plans, including the trip he’s most excited about: a journey into space on one of Virgin Galactic’s inaugural flights.

Locations Mentioned in the Wallin Wrap-Up:

Peru

Aqua Nera river cruiser from Aqua Expeditions

U.S.

Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans

Spain

The Ritz Madrid, which recently reopened under the Mandarin Oriental flag

Villa Magna, which is reopening as a Rosewood Hotel

Four Seasons Madrid

Japan

Aman Kyoto

Park Hyatt Kyoto

Hotel the Mitsui, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kyoto

Higashiyama Niseko Village, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

Learn more about Virtuoso and book your next trip with a Virtuoso travel advisor: https://www.virtuoso.com/travel

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Learn more about the podcast: https://www.curtco.com/travelthatmatters

Hosted by: Bruce Wallin

Produced by: AJ Moseley and Darra Stone

Music by: Joey Salvia

A CurtCo Media Production

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