So, what takes your fancy? Swimming with whale sharks in Western Australia? Dining under the stars in the shadow of Uluru? Chartering a yacht to sail among the Whitsunday Islands?
Australia is rich with the sort of unique experiences that make luxury travellers reach for their platinum credit cards. And with high-end accommodation options popping up left, right and centre, the country can host these holidaymakers in the style they’re lucky enough to be accustomed to.
From remote eco-lodges and barefoot-luxury private islands to opulent hotels like the Gold Coast’s bling-tastic Palazzo Versace, there’s no shortage of places to stay.
Factor in those long-haul flights, hopefully with an upgrade, and we’re talking the sort of commission that any agent would be happy to bank.
Now is a good time for any destination to be increasing its performance at the top end of the market, relying on resilient wealthy travellers to carry it through the recession. Bridge & Wickers report good sales from Australia, Cox & Kings has doubled the size of its Australia and New Zealand brochure, and Austravel launched a luxury microsite.
Accommodation
The major change at the top of the Australian accommodation market in recent years has been the proliferation of luxury lodges, according to Bridge & Wickers director David Wickers.
“Our clients are experience seekers. Until recently they couldn’t find the right type of properties off the beaten track. Now they can, all over the country. Sal Salis at Ningaloo Reef opened up the whole of the Western Australian coast to the luxury traveller.”
This proliferation is evident in the birth of marketing organisation Luxury Lodges of Australia. Its 17 members’ upmarket properties offer experiential luxury options across the country. These properties are so individual it’s impossible to generalise, but they include outback homesteads, luxury tented camps, private island resorts and vineyard retreats.
Luxury hotels and resorts are easy to find in more built-up areas, too, from trendy city boutiques to coastal beach resorts. And prices range from the top end to more affordable levels of luxury.
New developments can be found all around the country. Headline openings in the past year include:
- Saffire, the new luxury lodge on the beautiful Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania
- Chateau Elan at The Vintage, a golf and spa resort in the Hunter Valley
- The 72-room and suite beach resort Pinctada Cable Beach in Broome
- The new beachfront villas at Hayman Island, a private island resort in the Whitsundays
- The Art Hotels, six boutique hotels in Melbourne, each themed around a different Australian artist. The latest to open is the 207-room The Blackman, centrally located on St Kilda’s Road
Experiences
For luxury travellers, experiences are central to any Australia holiday. So, as important as the luxury properties are, the activities they host, from wildlife viewing to fine dining, form a big part of their appeal.
On the border of the Kakadu National Park in Australia’s Top End, Bamurru Plains lodge offers its own brand of ‘wild bush luxury’, which includes river tours to look for crocodile and barramundi fishing. On South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, Southern Ocean Lodge can organise beach fishing, kayaking, and ‘kangaroo and canapé’ sundowner wildlife viewing. Cape Lodge in Margaret River has an award-winning restaurant and also hosts cooking classes.
Operators know how important activities are. Cox & Kings has included more excursions and experiences in its 2011 brochure, including a Blue Mountain Private Safari where guests experience a deluxe version of the traditional swag under the stars, and the Bama Way, a three-day Aboriginal journey through mangroves, rainforest and savannah from Cairns to the north of Cooktown.
Experiences in Kuoni’s brochure include backstage tours of Sydney Opera House and swimming with dolphins at Rockingham.
Rail and cruise
The journey can be half the fun, too. Australia’s most famous train is the Ghan, which whisks passengers from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs.
This month The Southern Spirit also returns to the rails with a new itinerary and an enhanced service. The route, between Adelaide and Brisbane, explores the Great Dividing Range and the east coast over six days.
The journey includes a number of whistle-stop tours, including the Grampian Ranges, Ned Kelly Country and the Murray River; Dubbo and the Western Plains Zoo; the Hunter Valley, featuring a spectacular crossing of the Blue Mountains and the coastal towns of Port Stephens; Port Macquarie and Byron Bay. Guests can join The Southern Spirit in Adelaide or Melbourne, travelling in luxurious Platinum Service or hallmark Gold Service cabins. Find out more on the Great Southern Rail website.
Options on the water are multifarious, too, from sailing in Sydney harbour to upmarket wine cruises on the Margaret River. Orion Expedition Cruises offers water trips in the lap of luxury. The line is famous for its northwest itineraries, taking in remote Kimberley and Arnhem Land, and also operates cruises visiting Tropical North Queensland and the Barrier Reef, and Tasmania.
North Star Cruises offers similar cruises on True North around the Australian coastline.
Training
July saw the launch of the luxury module of the Aussie Specialist online training programme. The niche module is available to Aussie Specialist agents and includes training on luxury spas, cruising, high-end gourmet experiences and accommodation from city to coast and outback, as well as hidden retreats and eco-lodges.
“The module reinterprets the key elements looked at in our other training modules – coastal, nature, outback, food and wine, journeys, Aboriginal – with a luxury bias,” says Glenn Davis, Tourism Australia trainer.
He explains how classic itineraries such as Sydney, Rock and Reef can be packaged for the luxury market, with seaplane trips and yacht experiences in Sydney harbour, a few days in Wolgan Valley Resort in the Blue Mountains, time in the Red Centre staying at luxurious Longitude 131° and then finishing off at one of the Great Barrier Reef’s exclusive island resorts.
Glen reports a growth in agents selling big-budget trips to Australia, with luxury specialists beginning to sell more Australia, and Australia specialists branching into luxury bookings.
Operators are getting in on the act, too. Austravel has its own microsite dedicated to the top end of travel, allowing users to search for luxury accommodation and excursions by name or region. It also features in-page Google maps, so it’s easy to locate what’s on offer around the country.
Resorts include Saffire and Wolgan Valley, and experiences range from train journeys including Platinum Service on the Ghan and seaplane experiences in Sydney. Brand manager Ben Briggs says: “Australian luxury is all about stunning locations, silence and space, rather than gold taps and valet parking.”
Overcoming objections
The challenges of selling Australia to the luxury market aren’t so different from those the destination faces overall. Most people love the idea of visiting Australia, but an extra push can be needed to convert the wish into action.
However, luxury specialists have a few aces up their sleeves. Often, distance and perceived cost are the two factors that stand against Australia. But cost is less of a hurdle for the luxury market, and the question of distance can be more easily dealt with.
With more premium cabins on offer, and with extra money to spend on upgrades, well-off clients can be comforted that their journey can be a pleasure.
