How do the world's richest people travel in the summer?

The elite don't want to be stuck in places where they are surrounded by virtual tourists, no matter how high-end the hotel is.

According to global luxury vacation companies, their clients are those who spend at least $100,000 to millions of dollars on a vacation, or an average of nearly $11,000 per day.

How the world's richest people travel in the summer — Pictured is the entrance to Le Grand Jardin, a newly built villa on a private island off the coast of Cannes, France. This is a new destination loved by the super-rich, even though the weekly rent is nearly 300,000 USD. Photo: Le Grand Jardin

The love of sailing on summer days has not waned among the super-rich after the pandemic. A representative of the management company Aqua Mare, a 50-meter luxury yacht based in the Galapagos Islands, said tourists have invested more money in this hobby. Before the pandemic, people used to spend about $25,000 for a week of sailing . Now, that number is up to $90,000.

However, the ultra-wealthy are not looking for the flashiest, biggest or most spacious superyachts. Instead, they are looking for smaller but equally luxurious superyachts with sundeck and water entertainment.

Jules Maury, manager of travel company Scott Dunn Private, said many of her clients often spend a week on private, luxury yachts after spending seven days in a high-end hotel on land.

The urge to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life has doubled in demand since the pandemic. But instead of traveling like normal people, the super-rich are renting entire private islands and staying there.

Edward Granville, manager of Red Savannah, says the cost of renting a villa on a private island like this is around $290,000 a week. Despite the price, demand is high because “you have your own hotel in a place that is completely isolated from the outside world ,” Granville says. If guests want to party at a beach club until dawn, they can take a speedboat back to the mainland, which is included in the package. Then they can go back to the island for some privacy.

Maury says the trend of “avoiding crowds” is becoming more prevalent among the wealthy. She’s seen an increase in clients wanting to rent out an entire hotel and turn it into their own private hideaway for the duration of their stay.

The rich also like to vacation in lesser-known properties. One Granville guest spent $185,000 for a week to stay in a private compound in Porto Heli, Greece. The place resembles a small village with seven houses, a tavern, a square, and is not heavily advertised online.

According to travel companies, this year Greece is the new playground for the super-rich in the summer. In previous years, Italy held the number one position, but this year the champion belongs to Greece, with the number of tour bookings increasing dramatically. Tourists still like to visit the islands, but famous destinations like Mykonos are no longer popular. Instead, visitors are heading to emerging areas like Paros. "Everyone knows Mykonos is full of tourists and wild parties. Paros has brought Greece back to its old peaceful days," Granville said.

“People want to go to uninhabited beaches, somewhere that's only accessible by boat,” Maury added.

After the success of the blockbuster movie "The White Lotus", the San Domenico Hotel in Italy, which appeared in the movie, was packed with guests. Four Seasons, the group that runs the hotel, was said to be "crazy with joy because it was full". But because of this, the hotel lost its appeal to the super-rich - who make up about 1% of the world's population but have nearly double the wealth of the poorest 99%, according to Oxfam.

“The elite don’t want to be stuck anywhere with tourists who like to take virtual photos,” said Clifford, who manages a company that specializes in serving the super-rich.

According to vnexpress.net

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