Will Luxury Travel Drop in an Election Year?
Historically, the uncertainty of an election year equals a drop in luxury sales across all sectors, including travel. Last week, I attended a panel with industry experts moderated by Kimberly Wilson Wetty of Valerie Wilson Travel in New York. Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso, said that the company studied election year sales and noticed that in three previous election cycles, in the years before an election, sales grew by 14.3 percent in the United States. In election years, the rate of growth dropped to 2.9 percent. But in 2020, sales are going strong. Weve seen that the number one correlating factor to luxury travel spend isnt the general economy or politics. It has to do with the equities market, and right now were within points of records on the markets, he explained. And my personal opinion is that, even with any drop, the correlation will mean less. [Todays spending is] much more driven by multigenerational travel and the prioritization of experiences over goods.  Others echoed this sentiment. Deltas sales were up 78 percent in 2019, according to vice president Chuck Imhof, with premium revenue growing even faster. The airline signed up 6 million new SkyMiles customers last year, and the Delta Private Jets partnership with Wheels Up, a membership-based private aviation company, has been a successful addition to the companys portfolio.