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View From Afar | Travel Industry News

View From Afar is the travel industry podcast made by the travel industry, for the travel industry. Hosted by the editors of Afar, the show sits down with the CEOs, tourism experts, hoteliers, and destination leaders shaping how the world moves. These are travel industry interviews with the people actually making the decisions, from national tourism boards to the newest hotel brands, often recorded in the room where it happens, including live from major travel industry events like IPW.

Every episode is a real conversation, not a press release. Afar editors talk with travel changemakers about what the next era of travel will be built on: the rise of sustainable tourism, smarter destination management, the travel innovation reshaping the guest experience, and the travel industry challenges no one wants to say out loud. Expect tourism experts interviews that move from travel marketing strategies and travel consumer insights to local tourism initiatives, destination highlights, and the future of travel and tourism development. Past guests have led the tourism efforts of entire states and cities, run major transit and hospitality brands, and steered destinations through record years and hard pivots alike.

If your work touches travel, think of this as your briefing. As a travel podcast built for professionals, View From Afar delivers the travel industry news and travel industry insights that help destination marketers, hospitality industry leaders, tour operators, and travel professionals stay ahead of travel trends 2026 and beyond. It is travel storytelling with a purpose: honest, curious, and grounded in the real experiences of the people building the business of travel.

Afar has spent more than a decade telling travelers where to go and why it matters. View From Afar turns that same lens on the industry itself, giving you a front-row seat to the ideas, the debates, and the travel experiences defining what comes next. New episodes bring new voices and new destinations to the table.

Follow View From Afar wherever you listen, and join the conversation shaping the future of travel.

Latest Episodes:

The Case for Better Key West Travel, Not Just More | Live From IPW 2026 May 26, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Florida Keys and Key West president and CEO Kara Franker sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen for one of our most candid travel industry interviews yet: a look at what smarter Key West travel looks like when a tiny string of islands is breaking visitor records.

Kara arrived about a year and a half ago from Visit Estes in Colorado, bringing a mix of legal, marketing, and journalism experience. She inherited an organization that needed rebuilding, and a destination wrestling with a very specific challenge: huge demand, a fragile environment, and a beloved story to protect.

In this conversation, Kara and Billie discuss:

Why Key West travel is at a record high, with more arrivals at Key West International Airport in 2025 than ever before
How Kara rebuilt the organization from 12 staff to 30, brought agencies in house, and recruited talent from outside tourism, including a VP who spent decades at Cisco
The shift from broadcast spray and play to targeted marketing, and the industry debate over better tourism versus more tourism
Why protecting the coral reef is a business strategy, not just an environmental one, and how it shielded Key West during Hurricane Irma
What it means to court the highest average daily rate in the country while asking visitors to treat the reef, the key deer, and the locals with respect
How tourism development taxes are funding capital projects, from a refresh of Mallory Square to a new artificial reef in the Lower Keys

This is one in a series of travel industry interviews and tourism experts interviews recorded live at IPW 2026, part of View From Afar's ongoing look at travel trends 2026, sustainable tourism, and the destination management challenges facing fragile places. For an honest take on Key West travel and the future of the wider Keys, it is a front-row conversation with one of the hospitality industry leaders shaping what comes next.

Resources

– Visit Florida Keys website

– John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

– Fantasy Fest

– Afar guide to the Florida Keys and Key West

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar

00:01:30 Rebuilding the Team From Scratch

00:04:00 Better Tourism, Not More

00:06:30 Investing in the Community

00:11:00 Come as You Are

00:12:00 Pride, Politics, and the Path Forward

00:17:30 The Joy of the Keys

00:20:00 Becoming a Freshwater Conch

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.
Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.
⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.
Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Turning Surf City USA Into an Overnight Destination | Live From IPW 2026 May 23, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Visit Huntington Beach president and CEO John Urdi sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran, who happens to have grown up in Surf City USA, for one of our most personal travel industry interviews yet: a plan to turn Surf City USA from a day trip into an overnight destination.

John took the helm of Visit Huntington Beach in late 2024 after building and leading Mammoth Lakes Tourism, a move from the mountains to the sea, with earlier stops at the U.S. Travel Association and Visit California. He even married on the beach at Tower 11.

In this episode, John and Michelle discuss:

Why only about a quarter of Huntington Beach visitors currently stay overnight, and how the team grew conference bookings from 56,000 to 87,000 room nights on the way to a six-figure goal
The Tourism Business Improvement District funding model, how a visitor-funded assessment supports both marketing and the visitor experience, and how it fuels a more sustainable tourism strategy
How privatizing that funding gives a smaller destination the agility to chase markets it never could before, from Japan to Australia
What it takes to convert day-trippers into hotel guests without losing the free-spirited beach town that locals love
How John is navigating a destination that has drawn polarizing national headlines, and his plant-more-flowers philosophy of promoting 10 miles of open coastline while welcoming all visitors
What a beach town can learn from a mountain town about taking a destination to the next level

This is one in a series of travel industry interviews and tourism experts interviews recorded live at IPW 2026, part of View From Afar's ongoing look at travel trends 2026, destination management, and the travel marketing strategies that reshape a place's story. For a candid look at the future of Surf City USA, it is a front-row conversation with one of the hospitality industry leaders shaping what comes next.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar

00:01:30 From Mammoth to the Beach

00:03:00 Building the Hotel Funding Model

00:05:30 Planting Flowers, Not Weeds

00:09:00 Live Between Waves

00:11:30 What's Next on the Waterfront

00:16:00 The World Cup and LA28 Opportunity

Resources

Visit Surf City USA
Find Visit Huntington Beach on Instagram and Facebook
Explore Afar's California travel guide

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.
Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.
⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.
Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Minnesota Tourism Answered a Hard Year | Live From IPW 2026 May 22, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Explore Minnesota executive director Lauren Bennett McGinty sits down with Afar editorial director Billie Cohen for one of our most heartfelt travel industry interviews yet: a look at how Minnesota tourism answered one of the hardest years in the state's memory.

Lauren leads tourism for a state that spent the past year in the national spotlight for reasons far beyond travel, from federal enforcement activity and tensions with Canada to a ruling on mining near the Boundary Waters. Her question became how to talk about Minnesota tourism in a way that feels human rather than tone-deaf.

In this episode, Lauren and Billie discuss:

How the Star of the North campaign made authenticity the baseline, inviting outsiders to tell Minnesota's story because locals are too humble to brag
The idea of neighborism, the notion that Minnesota nice means digging your neighbor out of the snowbank no matter what, and the Come Visit Your Neighbors campaign it inspired
The love letter to Minnesota, a fast, low-budget spot mixing nostalgic footage with voices like Chef Yia Vang, Olympian Jessie Diggins, and former Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak
Real numbers from that two-week push, 900,000 people reached and nearly 30,000 clicks at a 9.5 percent engagement rate
Why the Explore Minnesota homepage now invites people to move there, and how tourism and relocation feed each other
The under-the-radar Minnesota Lauren loves, from the St. Croix Valley pottery tour to Franconia Sculpture Park

This is one in a series of travel industry interviews and tourism experts interviews recorded live at IPW 2026, part of View From Afar's ongoing look at travel trends 2026, travel marketing strategies, and the travel industry challenges of promoting a place in a hard moment. For an honest look at Minnesota tourism under pressure, it is a front-row conversation with one of the hospitality industry leaders shaping the future of travel.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome to View From Afar

00:01:50 The Tough Year Behind the Headlines

00:05:30 Defining Neighborism

00:07:30 A Love Letter to Minnesota

00:11:30 Why People Are Moving There

00:14:40 Small Towns, Big Nutcrackers

00:17:20 Lessons for Other Destinations

Resources

Visit Explore Minnesota
Find Explore Minnesota on Instagram and Facebook
Explore Afar's Minnesota travel guide

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.
Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.
⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.
Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wyoming Tourism Playbook Beyond Yellowstone | Live From IPW 2026 May 20, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to a special IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, recorded live from the conference floor, Domenic Bravo⁠, executive director of the ⁠Wyoming Office of Tourism⁠, sits down with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran for one of our most grounded travel industry interviews yet: a look at Wyoming tourism beyond its world-famous icons, from a leader who started his career as a park ranger.

Domenic moved to Wyoming in 2008 to become the state park director and stepped into the top tourism role about six months ago. He leads a state that leans on Yellowstone and Grand Teton as hooks, then works to send visitors toward the lesser-known jewels most people never find.

In this episode, Domenic and Michelle discuss:

How Wyoming tourism disperses crowds beyond the icons, from timing park visits to spotlighting overlooked corners of the state
Why the market is still mostly domestic, how Canada has been the biggest drop, and why summer bookings remain solid
Dark skies clear enough to see the Milky Way, Devil's Tower marking 120 years as the first national monument, and a food scene that surprises
How the state hands the mic to Indigenous communities to tell their own stories
The case for tourism as an economic engine, and why advocating for it takes constant repetition
A hypothetical family road trip, from Fossil Butte to a working dude ranch, plus the pitchfork fondue you have to see to believe
Why the country's highest concentration of dude ranches still draws locals on a Friday night, not just tourists
Why winter, from snowmobiling near bison to the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody, is the season Wyoming wants you to rediscover

This is one in a series of travel industry interviews and tourism experts interviews recorded live at IPW 2026, part of View From Afar's ongoing look at travel trends 2026, sustainable tourism, and the destination management ideas neighboring states are sharing. For a fresh read on Wyoming tourism in a milestone year for a state of firsts, it is a front-row conversation with one of the hospitality industry leaders shaping what comes next.

Chapters

00:00:00 Welcome From the Floor of IPW 00:01:30 Beyond Yellowstone's Front Door 00:06:30 Devils Tower, Dark Skies, and Surprises 00:08:00 The Wind River Story 00:14:00 A Road Trip for the Bay Area Family 00:17:30 Real Dude Ranches and Pitchfork Fondue 00:20:30 What's Coming, From Sheridan to Snow

Resources

Visit Travel Wyoming
Find the Wyoming Office of Tourism on Instagram and Facebook
Explore Afar's Wyoming travel guide

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all our IPW 2026 episodes this week.
Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.
⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Rate and review the show to help other travel professionals discover these insights.
Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠and ⁠Unpacked⁠.

This IPW 2026 special series was recorded live. View From Afar is a production of Afar Media and a part of Airwave Media's podcast network (email ⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast). The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland, with assistance from Michelle Baran and Billie Cohen. Music composition from Epidemic Sound.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Travel Trends 2026 Will Hinge On | Setting the Stage for IPW May 12, 2026

Show notes

Welcome to a special scene-setter for our IPW 2026 series of View From Afar. In this episode, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman sits down again with Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran, one year after their last IPW conversation, for one of our most wide-ranging travel industry interviews yet: a candid read on the travel trends 2026 will hinge on.

Geoff leads the trade group that advocates for the U.S. travel industry and puts on IPW each year. He and Michelle pick up where they left off, tracing a year of striking contrasts for American travel.

In this episode, Geoff and Michelle discuss:

The resilience of the domestic traveler, and a record quarter for hotels even through a government shutdown and hours-long TSA lines
Why the U.S. was the only country in the world to see international visitation decline, with Canadian travel down more than 20 percent
Geoff's blunt view of federal shutdowns, and U.S. Travel's push to carve TSA and air traffic control out of future standoffs
The split screen in the numbers, a 2.6 trillion dollar contribution to GDP and 24.4 million jobs, set against a 5.5 percent drop in international visitors
How a proposed 250 dollar visa fee and long visa wait times risk making the country less competitive just as demand runs high
How competitors are capitalizing, from booming travel to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean to China easing entry for European visitors, even as American travel demand stays historically high
Why the World Cup is both a huge opportunity and a test, and how travel still works as diplomacy

This is the scene-setter for a series of travel industry interviews and tourism experts interviews recorded around IPW 2026, part of View From Afar's ongoing look at travel trends 2026, travel industry news, and the travel industry challenges facing inbound U.S. travel. For the big-picture context behind the travel trends 2026 will be defined by, it is a front-row conversation with one of the hospitality industry leaders shaping the future of travel.

Chapters 00:00:00 Resilience and the Inbound Decline 00:06:00 Aviation as a Political Hostage 00:11:00 The Perception Gap 00:14:00 Winning Canadians Back 00:19:00 What's New at IPW 2026 00:28:00 Travel as Diplomacy

Resources

Listen to last year's conversation with Geoff Freeman, recorded live at IPW Chicago
Read Geoff's Afar op-ed, Welcoming Travelers When America Feels Challenged
Explore Afar's World Cup guide
Learn more about the U.S. Travel Association and IPW
Catch the Live From IPW episodes starting May 20, featuring executives representing destinations from Seattle to Puerto Rico

Stay Connected

Subscribe to View From Afar to catch all 14 IPW episodes next week
Follow @AfarMedia on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ for behind-the-scenes IPW content.
⁠Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.

Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Travel Tales⁠, where we share first-person narratives of trips that have changed us, and ⁠⁠⁠Unpacked⁠⁠⁠, which unpacks a tricky topic in travel each week.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Hotelier Takes the Helm at Explora Journeys Feb 02, 2026

Show notes

How do you bring ultra‑luxury hospitality to the high seas?

For Anna Nash, President of Explora Journeys, it starts with reimagining ocean travel as a floating boutique hotel experience rooted in European elegance, emotional connection, and slow‑travel sensibilities.

In this episode of View From Afar, Anna joins Afar deputy editor Michelle Baran to discuss how Explora Journeys is redefining cruising for a new generation of travelers — from sustainability innovations and destination stewardship to culinary excellence and family‑forward programming that avoids the typical mega‑ship clichés.

In This Episode You’ll Learn

How Explora Journeys blends luxury hotel DNA with ocean travel to attract the “cruise‑averse” guest.
Why European ownership and MSC Group’s maritime heritage shape the brand’s culture, design, and global mix of guests.
How Explora approaches sustainability — from LNG‑powered ships to shore‑power readiness and MSC Foundation partnerships.
What smaller‑port itineraries, longer stays, and curated excursions mean for combating overtourism.
How the brand balances sophistication with thoughtful, screen‑free family programming.

Key Moments

[06:12] Why Explora thinks of its ships as “floating boutique hotels.”
[12:40] How European elegance and a global guest mix shape the onboard experience.
[18:55] What LNG power and shore‑power capabilities mean for sustainability.
[25:10] How Explora designs itineraries to avoid crowds and support local economies.
[33:22] A monastery visit in Patmos that surprises even cruise skeptics.
[41:05] Why thoughtful kids’ programming doesn’t require waterslides.
[48:30] A preview of Explora III, Asia itineraries, and the brand’s first World Journey.

Resources

Explore Explora Journeys itineraries and ships
Learn more about the MSC Foundation
Follow Anna Nash on LinkedIn

Stay Connected

Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.
Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Unpacked,⁠ where we dig into the trickiest topics in travel, and ⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

View From Afar is part of ⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live From ILTM: How Nayara Resort's Is Solving Tourism's Hidden Housing Crisis Dec 08, 2025

Show notes

Nayara Resorts is confronting one of tourism's most overlooked problems—the housing crisis that forces local workers out of their communities in remote areas—by building homes for its most vulnerable employees.

In this ILTM episode, recorded live in Cannes, Leo Ghitis, CEO of Nayara Resorts, joins Afar editor in chief Julia Cosgrove to discuss how the luxury resort group is addressing both environmental devastation and social inequality in Latin America's rural communities.

Leo shares Nayara's 15-year evolution from "improvising" regenerative travel to implementing a 10-year strategic plan with environmental consultants. The results include planting 40,000 trees to restore a barren mountain in Costa Rica, creating the only carbon-neutral luxury hotel in Chile, and operating a 100 percent off-grid island resort in Panama powered entirely by solar energy.

But it's Nayara's housing project that represents its most ambitious social initiative—subdividing land near its Costa Rica properties to provide subsidized lots and mortgages to female-headed households, with no requirement that recipients continue working at the resort.

As Leo explains, meaningful luxury today isn't about escaping the world but engaging with it in a safe, sensitive way—and younger travelers increasingly choose hotels based on their positive impact rather than their amenities.

What You'll Learn

Nayara eliminated plastics 15 years ago and now operates carbon-neutral properties across Costa Rica, with its Chilean property earning the country's highest ecological certification
The resort's reforestation project transformed a barren mountain into a thriving ecosystem with birds, monkeys, and sloths after 10 years and 40,000 planted trees
Short-term rentals like Airbnb have created a housing crisis in rural tourism areas by pricing out local workers from traditional rental housing
Younger travelers ask Nayara's reservation team about environmental and community impact before asking about rates or amenities

Key Moments [3:11] Leo reveals how hiring environmental consultants transformed Nayara from "improvising" sustainability to following a strategic 10-year plan with measurable goals [10:36] Discussion of tourism's dark side: how fathers leave rural communities for city work and never return, leaving vulnerable families behind [13:00] The housing project details: providing subsidized land and mortgages to female-headed households with no strings attached to employment [21:09] Leo's observation that meaningful luxury has shifted from "extravagance and hedonistic luxury" to guests wanting to connect with nature, place, and themselves

Resources

Visit the Nayara Resorts website for property information
Read an in-depth, first-person review of Nayara Bocas del Toro in Panama on afar.com.

Discover ILTM Cannes where this conversation was recorded
Explore Nayara's sustainability initiatives and community programs

Stay Connected

⁠⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Sign up for our podcast newsletter,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.
Explore our other podcasts,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Unpacked,⁠⁠⁠⁠ where we dig into the trickiest topics in travel, and⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

View From Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

This ILTM special series was recorded live in Cannes, France. View From Afar is a production of Afar. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live From ILTM: How Langham Balances 160 Years of Heritage with Modern Luxury Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

Langham Hospitality Group is proving that heritage brands can innovate without losing their soul, transforming historic buildings into contemporary luxury destinations while maintaining the personal service that defines true hospitality.

In this ILTM⁠ (International Luxury Travel Market), recorded live in Cannes, Bob van den Oord, CEO of Langham Hospitality Group, joins Afar editor-in-chief Julia Cosgrove to share how he's guided the 160-year-old brand through thoughtful expansion that honors its British legacy while embracing modern wellness, design, and guest expectations.

Bob discusses Langham's journey from opening Europe's first grand hotel with elevators in 1865 to current projects converting iconic buildings—from Chicago's former IBM building to Bangkok's historic Custom House—into luxury properties that tell compelling local stories. The brand now operates with what Bob calls "a British heart, an Asian soul, and a global mindset," creating spaces where posh pubs coexist with traditional Chinese medicine spas and cooking schools share space with world-class bars.

Bob also explores the challenge of attracting Gen Z talent to hospitality through specialized academies and how the "Langham Way" of unscripted, authentic service remains the brand's non-negotiable standard across all properties.

What You'll Learn

The "Langham Way" emphasizes unscripted, authentic service where staff have freedom to engage personally with guests and tell their own stories
Modern luxury travelers seek "freedom of time and freedom of space," driving Langham to expand room sizes to 50 square meters and invest millions in garden landscapes
Langham selects properties with compelling stories—from Venice's glass factory to Boston's Federal Reserve bank—that help connect guests to local heritage
The brand operates four specialized academies (Chinese cuisine, traditional Chinese medicine, pastry, and bar) to attract and develop young talent in hospitality

Key Moments [2:30] Bob reveals why he decided to add a "posh pub" to the London property, proving luxury can embrace unexpected elements [3:37] Discussion of a guest's "love letter" describing how staff remember his martini preference and cappuccino style, embodying the Langham Way [9:53] Bob explains Langham's wellness expansion, from traditional Chinese medicine spas to pickleball courts and partnership with Sleep Matters for comprehensive sleep programs [13:27] The talent challenge: How Langham's academy system aims to make hospitality "sexy again" for Gen Z workers

Resources

Visit the Langham Hospitality Group website for property information and bookings
Read our coverage of Langham on afar.com, including a conversation between Bob and Afar senior deputy editor Jennifer Flowers.
Discover ILTM Cannes where this conversation was recorded

Stay Connected

Sign up⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.
Explore our other podcasts, ⁠Unpacked,⁠ where we dig into the trickiest topics in travel, and ⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

View From Afar is part of⁠ ⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

This ILTM special series was recorded live in Cannes, France. View From Afar is a production of Afar. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live From ILTM: Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch on Humanizing the Exceptional in an Age of AI Dec 05, 2025

Show notes

For more than four decades, Matthew Upchurch has been a driving force behind how high-end travel is sold, experienced, and understood. As CEO of ⁠Virtuoso⁠ , one of the world's leading luxury travel networks, he's championed human connection in an increasingly digital world and advocated for the enduring value of trusted advisors and transformative, purpose-driven travel.

In this ILTM episode, recorded live in Cannes, Afar cofounder Joe Diaz sits down with Matthew to discuss how the luxury sector is evolving, what personalization really means today, and where he sees the next opportunities for meaningful travel experiences.

The conversation explores how AI is reshaping the advisor role, why debriefing clients is the most underrated skill in the business, and how intergenerational collaboration is breathing new life into travel advising.

What You'll Learn

• Matthew's philosophy of "automate the predictable so you can humanize the exceptional" and how AI amplifies rather than replaces advisors

• The critical difference between service (what you do) and hospitality (how you make someone feel doing it)

• Why the quality of the post-trip debrief is the number one factor that separates transactional agents from trusted advisors

• The concept of "unique ability teams" and why pairing right-brain relationship builders with left-brain logistics experts creates exponential value

• How the travel advisor profession has evolved from GDS "human ATMs" to unchained creative professionals

• The "FOMO to Slowmo" trend and other shifts in how luxury travelers approach their journeys

Key Moments

• [02:00] Matthew introduces his most quoted line: "Automate the predictable so that you can humanize the exceptional"

• [03:30] Will Guidara's definition of hospitality: "Service is that thing you do. Hospitality is how you make somebody feel doing that thing you do"

• [05:00] The framework: what do you do before, during, and after travel—and why the debrief matters most

• [08:00] Anne Scully's game-changing question: "If you could change one thing about that trip, what would it be?"

• [09:30] The evolution of travel advisors from the 1950s Pan Am era through GDS to the iPhone-enabled present

• [12:00] The unique ability concept: what drains you vs. what recharges you, and building teams around this distinction

• [14:00] Chip Conley's wisdom: "I'll lend you some of my EQ for some of your DQ"—the power of intergenerational collaboration

• [18:00] The creative tension of sophisticated travelers: returning to beloved places vs. exploring the new

• [20:00] Why advisors should help clients think strategically about their "most valuable non-renewable asset"—free leisure time

Resources

• Learn more about Virtuoso and their global network of travel advisors

• Read Patrick Lencioni's The Advantage and Five Dysfunctions of a Team, referenced by Matthew

• Explore Chip Conley's book Wisdom at Work: The Making of a Modern Elder

• Learn about ILTM Cannes where this conversation was recorded

Stay Connected

⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠⁠ for our travel industry newsletter, Afar Advisor.
Sign up for our podcast newsletter,⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Behind the Mic⁠⁠⁠⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode.
Explore our other podcasts,⁠⁠ ⁠Unpacked,⁠⁠⁠ where we dig into the trickiest topics in travel, and⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.

View From Afar is part of⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

This ILTM special series was recorded live in Cannes, France. View From Afar is a production of Afar. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Live From ILTM: How Matter of Form Helps Luxury Travel Brands—From Aman to Belmond—Find Their Voices Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

Matter of Form is proving that luxury travel brands need therapy—not to fix what's broken, but to discover what makes them singular in a sea of "elevated experiences" and "art of luxury" clichés.

In this ILTM episode, recorded live in Cannes, Anant Sharma, founder and CEO of Matter of Form, joins Afar cofounder Joe Diaz to dissect why luxury hospitality has become awash with homogenized language and how brands can reclaim their confidence through clarity of purpose. With 60 people working across continents, the London-based Matter of Form has transformed hospitality giants like Aman Resorts, Belmond, Mandarin Oriental, and Lindblad by finding the unspoken truths within organizations.

The conversation explores luxury travel's eight percent compound annual growth and $1.38 trillion market size, and why bigger isn't always better when everyone's competing with identical promises.

What You'll Learn

The luxury travel market's growth creates more competition and pushes brands toward clichéd language like "elevated experiences" and "being in the heart of" destinations
Successful luxury brands must identify which aspect of their guests' personality they're appealing to and deliver on that singular promise
Matter of Form provides three key values: outside perspective, forcing clients to make time for change, and understanding what's not explicitly stated
Organizational design and stakeholder values reveal more about a brand's true identity than their marketing materials

Key Moments [2:25] Anant traces his path from magazine-obsessed kid with authority issues to luxury brand consultant via a 10-year transformation journey with Aman Resorts [7:36] The homogenization problem: "You can't tell people how to feel. You need to invite them into a stage that makes them feel something" [10:17] Why branding is like therapy: helping intelligent, creative leaders see past their blind spots and find what's naturally special about their culture [12:20] Joe identifies the core issue: luxury brands lack confidence to step into who they truly are, and matter of form gives them permission to be themselves

Resources

Visit the Matter of Form website for case studies and insights
Listen to Anant's podcast, What The Luxe, exploring modern luxury concepts
Learn about ILTM Cannes where this conversation was recorded

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View From Afar is part of⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Airwave Media⁠⁠⁠⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast.

This ILTM special series was recorded live in Cannes, France. View From Afar is a production of Afar. The podcast is produced by Aislyn Greene and Nikki Galteland.

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