From a private dinner with the Dalai Lama to working on a ranch with gauchos, luxury travellers are increasingly seeking out authentic experiences and immersive activities when they go on vacation.
With iconic landmarks, fine dining and couture shopping galore, there are endless reasons why Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world. But when Ted Fang, chief executive of investment firm Tera Capital, headed to France, the usual tourist attractions barely registered on his itinerary.
An aviation and design enthusiast, Fang, who is also the chairman and founder of hospitality company Frontier Group, planned his trips around exclusive visits to the Airbus and Dassault Falcon jet production facilities. “I wanted to see for myself the process of how jets are built,” says Fang, who was treated to a private tour of Dassault’s Bordeaux facility last year. “It is quite a sight to have such a high-tech facility right in the middle of the wine country. The level of technology and know-how that the company has accumulated is truly amazing and the visit gave me a very good idea of what the people at Dassault think about when designing jets.
“These visits give me deeper insights into French craftsmanship, design and ideas. Their creative process is amazing – just look at their products.”
SEEKING AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES
From indulging in individual passions to seeking out immersive experiences while on vacation, the new breed of luxury travellers such as Fang is redefining what it means to go on a holiday. A 2014 White Paper by American Express on travel trends reshaping the industry found that travellers were “specifically looking to immerse themselves in the destinations they visit and to travel like a local”.
This story is from the October 2016 edition of The PEAK Singapore.
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This story is from the October 2016 edition of The PEAK Singapore.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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