It is getting increasingly difficult for agents and consumers to determine which travel brands offer a truly luxury experience, according to APT Travel Group Chief Executive Officer David Cox.
Speaking with Travel Daily this week, Cox said the scourge of what he labelled “luxe-washing” is becoming more commonplace, and was one of the key reasons APT decided to embark on a rebranding and positioning earlier this year.
“We needed to raise ourselves above the luxury pack,” Cox said.
“Many companies are claiming to be five-star when they simply are not – in essence they are ‘luxe washing’,” he concluded.
The APT chief said he was especially concerned with the mass market appropriation of the term ‘luxury’ as APT embarks on a bold vision to reshape the high-end river cruise space on European waterways with its fleet of new purpose-built vessels.
“By any measure APT leads the true luxury Europe rivership field, and there is no luxe-washing in APT land,” Cox declared.
When asked what differentiates APT from those brands he believes are masquerading as luxury, Cox pointed to criteria that advisors should look for when making decisions on behalf of clients for river sailings.
“Our new European riverships are leading the way in true luxury, they have a passenger to crew ratio of 2.5 to 1, customers do not have to open their wallet for the duration of their cruise, and we have industry-first seven dining options,” Cox explained.
On shore, APT also offers “industry-leading” inclusions, such as VIP visits to castles hosted by royal family members.
