Virtuoso Symposium: World's leading luxury travel network met in Vienna

09 November 2021 - On the initiative of the Vienna Tourist Board and the Austrian National Tourist Office, Virtuoso, the leading global network specializing in luxury travel, held its annual gathering from 27–31 October in Vienna, where the association was also rebranded and reborn under its new name in the year 2000. At this anniversary symposium, more than 300 experts discussed current trends in luxury travel at exclusive venues including the Grosser Musikvereinssaal concert hall.

For this years symposium, Virtuoso, the leading global network specializing in luxury travel, returned to Vienna and therefore to the city where it was rebranded and reborn under the new name Virtuoso in the year 2000. Since then, the association, which is based in the USA, has grown steadily and now has an annual turnover of $30 billion, with over 20,000 luxury travel advisors in more than 50 countries. Among its 2,200 partners are twelve Austrian hotels – seven of them in Vienna – and two local tour operators. While the symposium in Vienna marked the 21st anniversary of the organization's rebranding to Virtuoso, the origins of the company extend back 70 years.

Vienna and its luxury offerings were featured prominently on the agenda at the symposium: meetings were held in such grand locations as the Grosser Musikvereinssaal concert hall and Schönbrunn Palace, while the evening events took the more than 300 delegates to venues including the Spanish Riding School and the KHM museum of art.

Matthew D. Upchurch, CEO and Founder of Virtuoso: "There could be no better place than Vienna to hold this prestigious event, at which we bring together some of the most prominent decision-makers in the luxury travel industry to network and engage in productive dialogue about the challenges, opportunities and future of our sector."

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Virtuoso Symposium 2021 — Opening night – © WienTourismus, Rainer Fehringer

Virtuoso Symposium 2021 Opening event — Opening night – © WienTourismus, Rainer Fehringer

Discussion about trends, challenges and opportunities

The annual Virtuoso Symposium, a format that exists since the 1990s, is an event where decision-makers from the fields of luxury and adventure travel come together, including those travel agents who are members of Virtuoso and senior managers from the association's network of partners. As well as the working sessions, the program also features networking events and debates about the trends, challenges and opportunities for the industry. The host destination and its luxury amenities take center stage throughout the entire event. Vienna is one of the few cities, along with Hong Kong and Cape Town, to have hosted this meeting twice.