North Shore Business Travel has announced a new recruit and flagged further expansion plans to meet the ever-increasing demand for luxury travel.
High profile luxury specialist agent Craig Martin will start with the business next month, a move that managing director Leith Sisson says will further cement the business’ growing profile in the high-end travel sector.
“We’re really excited to welcome Craig to our North Shore Business Travel family,” she says. “He brings extensive experience in luxury and cruising along with an approach that aligns strongly with how we operate at [NSBT]. He is a great addition to an already highly experienced team.” Martin, who was with the Flight Centre Travel Group for 18 years, says the time was right to move to a new challenge.
“I was ready for a change; Leith feels like the right fit for both of us, and to be honest coming back to a Virtuoso agency was a part of the decision,” he adds. “Virtuoso is the best of the best.”
At the same time he says it was a deliberate move back to an independent business with a strong luxury sales team and network. In his new role Martin will also be working on marketing and social media. “There’s so much opportunity for growth with the business. I can’t wait.” Luxury Travel now accounts for two-thirds of NSBT’s business ‘and growing’, adds Sisson, pictured above with Martin.
. . . Trends
Speaking to Travel Today about the business’ new growth phase, the pair also reflected on the local trends in the luxury travel space. “Locally I think we’re seeing the rise of the indulgent traveller, a new group within luxury travel,” says Sisson. “It’s having time and privacy and not in a large group or mass market—it’s small groups, private villas and private jets, and there’s growing local demand in that space.”
The pair also note that many luxury clients are significantly expanding their trip length, often to months not weeks. “That’s where a solid network of luxury contacts combined with knowledge about a client has become key,” adds Martin. “I also think the Kiwi mindset for luxury is very different to the rest of the world. Kiwis will spend the money, but there needs to be purpose behind it—and experiences, they want experiences,” says Martin. “Don’t get me wrong, they still want those with a soft landing, like a five-star hotel, at the end of those experiences.”
