Explore our new proprietary report, The State of Luxury Experiential Travel, examining how affluent U.S.-based travelers are redefining luxury travel in 2026.

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Report Overview

Experiential Travel has been loosely defined over the past two decades as travel “to do” something rather than only “to see” something. Or it can mean to be immersed in a different culture and to understand what it’s like to “live like a local”. The consumers that started this trend have now grown into their 40s and 50s and still want to experience the world. However, with more responsibilities and concerns like families and careers, they are more likely to demand comfort, safety, and peace of mind. For this demographic, travel has evolved from a status symbol into a profound investment of their most precious and non-renewable resource: time.

These affluent travelers prioritize frictionless logistics and intelligent delegation, seeking to eliminate decision fatigue by trusting experts tcurate seamless, end-to-end journeys. They often gravitate toward privacy, distinction, and understated environments that offer a sanctuary from their high-pressure professional lives.

Driven by a desire for personal transformation rather than passive sightseeing, their primary objective is a high emotional ‘return on
investment’, measuring the success of a trip by the depth of connection it allows them to foster with their family, the local culture, and
themselves. Ultimately, they favor authentic, small-scale experiences that offer a sense of scarcity and cultural immersion over standard options.

Enchanting Travels has been delivering luxury custom travel experiences for more than 20 years to destinations around the world. Under the guidance of Founder and CEO Parik Laxminarayan, we have grown our global operation with experts positioned in twenty different countries. After caring for 60,000+ guests and earning a 4.9/5.0 rating on TrustPilot, we have perfected the art of experiential travel for our guests in 70 destinations across seven continents.