The Top Luxury Travel Trends So Far in 2010

MONTREAL, July 15 /PRNewswire/ - With the recession petering off and the "staycation" trend finally over, travelers looped the globe with renewed enthusiasm this year, creating a fresh crop of trends to start 2010. Luxury Retreats has released a list of six of the top luxury travel trends for the first half of the year, with some surprising results.

To compile the list, the leader in luxury villa rentals (http://www.luxuryretreats.com) looked at its guests' destination statistics and polled its team of travel specialists on general themes that have reappeared time and time again since January.

"We speak to thousands of travelers per month, multiply that over six months and it becomes a pretty good snapshot of the luxury industry," said Jon Chiniborch, Sales Manager at Luxury Retreats. "There were trends that clearly stood out far and away from others," he said.

The most prevalent luxury travel trends for the first half of 2010 include:

    - A renewed love affair with classic destinations such as Italy, Maui and
      the Turks and Caicos.
    - Searching for value, even at the luxury level. Many travelers were
      looking for a deal.
    - A big increase in travel to South Africa, due to the World Cup.
    - Surging popularity in building "green" and demanding accommodations
      that are eco-friendly.

Other trends indicate that travelers are now focused on maximizing quality time with their families more than ever before, traveling in bigger family groups to villas with extra privacy.

"Family is what vacations are all about, so there's no surprise there," said Chiniborch.

View a list of all of Luxury Retreats' top travel trends so far in 2010: http://www.luxuryretreats.com/promotions/top-travel-trends/index.aspx

Luxury Retreats is the world's largest specialist in luxury villa rentals, offering over 1,500 elite properties in over 40 worldwide destinations. Founded in 1999, the company has grown into a respected leader in the industry, with over 100 employees in its Montreal headquarters and satellite offices in Hawaii, the Caribbean and Europe.

SOURCE Caribbean Way - Luxury Retreats