Luxury tourism is the segment that is on the tip of everyone’s tongue in the hospitality industry. Tripadvisor, Airbnb, and Uber may be trending for their online potential but luxury is the segment of the travel and tourism industry that has carried and will continue to carry many regions of the industry well into the future. The growth strategies of hotel groups and luxury brands around the world view luxury tourism as essential to continued and sustainable growth. Upon consulting the luxury industry and analyzing their recent results, Les Roches Marbella noticed the growth they had experienced was more than a trend. Through the industry’s evolution towards luxury-related segments, we saw the need for professionals who could provide these international companies with the right level of experience and skills. This led to the development of a new Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management for Luxury Tourism, an intensive one-year program that includes one semester studying specialized courses on campus and another semester of professional training in the industry.
Here are four reasons why Les Roches Marbella determined this new postgraduate program would be an invaluable asset to professionals wishing to advance their careers in the international hotel and hospitality industry:
1. There are currently over 330 million luxury consumers worldwide, a number that has tripled in the past decade and is expected to reach over 500 million by 2030. U.S. and European consumers dominate the luxury market, although China and Russia have emerged as potential future leaders with fast-growing travel and luxury consumers of their own on the rise.
2. The IE Luxury Barometer accurately anticipated luxury sentiments would continue to grow around the world as the principal economies emerge from the financial crisis that has been in place since 2007. They successfully forecasted in 2014 that luxury consumer sentiments and trends would be impacted by several factors; including the fact that luxury brands would need to create unforgettable experiences, provide personalized and exclusive products, and a redefine luxury to adapt to new and more demanding market segments. As we approach the second quarter of 2016, it is clear that luxury brands and hotels have met this forecasted growth with the implementation of new strategies that demand highly qualified professionals to oversee their growth.
3. IPK International concluded in the World Luxury Travel Report 2016 that theglobal luxury tourism sector grew by 48% over the past five years, representing the strongest growth of all tourism and travel related sectors. This growth has opened the doors to small and medium business opportunities, as well as tremendous potential for entrepreneurs with innovative ideas and services that wish to break into this lucrative sector.
4. The location of Les Roches’ campus in Marbella, Spain, has served as a direct market study of the potential and results that are made possible by international firms that execute successful luxury consumer strategies. In 2015 Marbella was designated as the second most influential luxury tourist destination in Spain, behind only Barcelona for its total luxury market share. In 2015 Marbella based businesses took in more the 1.5 billion euros in revenues generated from the luxury sector of both consumer brands and tourism related products like resorts and dining.
