World Luxury Destinations Conference

The pivots of global tourism are shifting. Gone is the focus on the “Grand Tour” experience of Europe and the Old World that once followed various routes to landmarks, landscapes and later coastal resorts from the middle ages to the 1960s. The new tourist is no longer so white or upper-middle class. The “masstige” of the 1980s has transformed tourist numbers and velocity around the world. International tourism from China is likely to double in the next seven years. Governments themselves increasingly reconfigure touristic routes and spectacles as a part of broader geo-political strategies. What if communities themselves resist and say, “stay at home.” Where and how does luxury fit into this conundrum? The inaugural “World Luxury Destinations” Conference met in Bangkok in early March 2018. Convened by James Cook University/Singapore and Emory University, it brought together speakers from Asia, North America, Dr. Peter McNeil is Distinguished Professor of Design History at the University of Technology Sydney and Distinguished Professor (FiDiPro), Aalto University. Peter.McNeil@uts.edu.au Lu xu ry D O I: 10 .1 08 0/ 20 51 18 17 .2 01 8. 15 60 70 6