by Natasha Lair
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Mon August 10, 2026
Nearly 5,000 luxury travel professionals from 105 countries have descended on Las Vegas, where strong forward bookings, shifting travel seasons, AI and the enduring value of human connection took centre stage on opening day.
Virtuoso Travel Week officially kicked off Sunday with a message that felt particularly fitting for an event bringing together 4,800 people from around the world: gathering still matters.
This year's event represents 105 countries and 1,900 companies, with 53 members of the press in attendance and approximately 110,000 meetings scheduled throughout the week.
Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew Upchurch also marked a milestone for the annual gathering: 2026 represents 25 years of Virtuoso Week being held in Las Vegas.
“The time has come to gather again here in Las Vegas. This year marks 25 years of this event here, and what a moment to celebrate it,” Upchurch said. “We're in a new epoch, full of possibility, and 4,800 of us from 105 countries are here because we believe authentic human connection is more valuable now than it's ever been.”
That idea of human connection would become a recurring theme throughout the opening ceremony.
Jennifer Campbell, Senior Vice President, Global Events at Virtuoso, opened the event suggesting that the significance of the annual gathering goes beyond appointments and business cards.
Drawing on the concept of gathering as a fundamental part of human connection, Campbell described Virtuoso Week as a ritual that has developed over the network's 38-year history.
"Every August, this community comes together," Campbell told attendees, pointing to the opportunity to welcome new members and partners, celebrate accomplishments, exchange ideas and strengthen relationships.
She introduced another idea to describe the energy created when thousands of people gather around a shared purpose: "collective effervescence," a term coined by French sociologist Émile Durkheim.
"It's that almost magical energy that happens when people come together around a shared purpose," Campbell said.
For anyone standing in a packed room at Virtuoso Travel Week, the concept isn't difficult to understand.
Campbell said the energy can be found throughout the event: in the room before a session begins, during networking events and amid the thousands of conversations taking place simultaneously.
And while technology has made connecting easier than ever, she argued that connection and belonging aren't necessarily the same thing.
"Belonging doesn't happen through an app," she said.
Luxury Travel Remains Resilient
David Kolner, Virtuoso's Executive Vice President, Strategic Communications, followed with a data-heavy — and frequently humorous — look at what Virtuoso is seeing across the luxury travel landscape in 2026.
Despite geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility and other disruptions this year, Kolner's message was largely one of resilience.
His assessment of the months ahead?
Fall is giving "main character energy."
Virtuoso is seeing clients planning further ahead, with multigenerational and celebration travel among the trends helping drive demand. Preferred partner forward bookings for 2027 are also pacing ahead of the same point last year.
That strength is reflected in advisor sentiment.
Virtuoso's latest Pulse study, which drew responses from more than 1,900 participants around the world, found optimism remains strong among both members and preferred partners.
Kolner said that confidence is being driven by clients and financial performance, along with growing optimism surrounding technology and emerging tools.
Is Fall The New Summer?
One of the most significant shifts Virtuoso is watching is when travellers are choosing to go.
Despite record heat and growing concern about climate change, demand for Europe remains strong.
Seventy-two percent of Virtuoso members say climate is changing travel planning, while 82% of partners are concerned about its impact. Yet European hotel bookings are up 33% so far this year, including summer.
What is changing is the calendar.
"Fall is the new summer," Kolner said.
September bookings have nearly doubled over the past two years, and Virtuoso's current 2026 pacing suggests September could potentially outsell August.
The shift offers another indication that traditional peak travel seasons are becoming less rigid as luxury travellers look for different times to visit popular destinations.
AI Isn't Replacing The Human Connection
Artificial intelligence inevitably made its way into the conversation, but Kolner's assessment was notably less apocalyptic than some of the predictions that have surrounded AI and travel advisors.
Virtuoso's research suggests network members are significantly more likely to view AI as an opportunity than a threat.
"A lot more are seeing it as an opportunity versus a threat," he said.
Among the biggest concerns, however, are accuracy and maintaining the human side of travel planning.
Kolner suggested that technology can be most useful when it takes care of tasks that allow advisors to spend more time doing what technology can't easily replicate: understanding people.
The theme ultimately brought the opening session back to where Campbell had started it: human connection.
Virtuoso is also watching the continued expansion of the ultra-high-net-worth traveller segment, creating further opportunity for luxury travel advisors and suppliers. But Kolner argued that wealth alone isn't what defines the future of luxury.
"What matters the most?" he asked. "Well, it's human connections."
In a year when AI, climate change, geopolitical uncertainty and changing traveller behaviour are reshaping the industry, it was a fitting message to launch a week built around 110,000 face-to-face meetings.
Brené Brown Brings Leadership — And Laughter — To The Stage
The opening session also featured bestselling author and researcher Brené Brown as keynote speaker, shifting the conversation from industry trends to leadership, courage, trust and human connection.
Brown left the Virtuoso Week audience with plenty to ponder, while also drawing genuine laughs throughout the session; a balance of thoughtful reflection and humour that felt particularly well suited to a gathering built around relationships.
Campbell had earlier encouraged attendees to be fully present for Brown's conversation, including a request to put phones away rather than taking photos or video.
"Connection happens when we're fully engaged with one another, not through a screen," Campbell said.
It was a fitting extension of the message that ran throughout the opening ceremony: technology may be transforming how the travel industry works, but relationships remain at the heart of it.
As Campbell challenged attendees, the most meaningful moments this week may not necessarily happen during one of the 110,000 scheduled meetings, but in an unexpected conversation along the way.
"You never know which one will change your business, or your perspective, or your life," she said.
And with 4,800 attendees gathered in Las Vegas, there will be no shortage of opportunities to find out.
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