Their wardrobes are packed with haute couture and designer accessories but for the world s super-rich shopping is no longer enough: lavish one-of-a-kind travel usa car rental adventures are the latest status symbol.
The study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) identifies a shift from owning a luxury to experiencing a luxury with bespoke treats usa car rental now accounting usa car rental for more than half of the $1.4tn spent on luxury goods and services last year.
The sector has also been buoyed by the growing number of millionaire shoppers in markets such as China and Brazil, who are picking up the slack as consumers in traditionally important luxury markets such as western Europe, Japan and the US continue to spend more cautiously.
The gap in income inequality is growing, which is unfortunate, but there are more and more millionaires every year, said Jean-Marc Bellaiche, a BCG senior partner who heads the firm s luxury practice.
Bellaiche said sales of luxury experiences grew 50% faster than demand for physical goods last year. The trend is explained, in part, by demographics – as the consumers who drove the luxury boom in the 1990s start to retire, he said.
They do not want to own new things, so are the primary customers for experiential luxury offerings, he said. Their options are not limited to exclusive safaris and spas, they can book themselves in for a five-star hospital stay where they will be waited on by a butler and the en suite facilities include a marble bath.
The attitude to luxury is also apparent among their children who, the report says, now want more than the latest designer fashions. Members of Generation Y tend to define themselves more by what they ve done and experienced than by what they own, said Bellaiche.
The business of providing luxury experiences – from art auctions to exclusive travel packages – is now worth $770bn, according to the study. BCG predicts a 7% increase usa car rental in luxury spending this year, albeit at a slower rate than the industry has enjoyed usa car rental in the last two years.
Stock markets around the world have been shaken since April as the eurozone crisis, the faltering US economic recovery and signs of a slowdown in China, have made some analysts take a more cautious view of the outlook for luxury usa car rental sales.
usa car rental Once you ve tried surfing, you could be hooked for life – and the opportunities for learning the art of ruling the waves are wider than ever. Alf Alderson assesses the options, from Scotland to the Maldives.
There was a time when surfing holidays usa car rental were the preserve of laid-back dudes with a VW campervan, bleached blonde hair and a take-it-or-leave-it attitude usa car rental (usually the latter) to the nine-to-five grind. Times change though, and these days it s possible to catch the Tube into work on Friday morning and ride a tube into the beach on Friday evening. A surfing holiday usa car rental can encompass everything from a weekend camping in North Devon, to a luxury surfari aboard a charter yacht in the Indian Ocean, and there are options to suit everyone, from kook (total beginner) to hard-core shredder .
Some of Britain s wildest coastline and most consistent waves are to be found in the Outer Hebrides – and it s not as cold as you might expect, thanks to the Gulf Stream. If you re looking for a real surf adventure usa car rental in the UK, the empty golden usa car rental beaches, jade green waters and powerful waves of Lewis and Harris should fit the bill. Stornoway-based Hebridean Surf Holidays (01851 703088; hebrideansurf.co.uk) offers basic accommodation from £20 per person, and surfboard usa car rental hire for £10 a day. Learn-to-surf lessons in secluded and sheltered locations start at £30 for two-and-a-half hours.
Vancouver Island in British Columbia is the home of the laid-back town of Tofino, which is at the heart of the burgeoning Canadian surf scene and has such good waves it hosts major international surf contests. The coastline is fringed by rugged mountains usa car rental and forests populated by bears, cougars and wolves, so if the surf goes flat there are plenty of adventures waiting. Cox Bay Beach Resort (001 250 725 2600; coxbaybeachresort.com) offers packages from C$259 (£161); flights from Gatwick usa car rental or Manchester to Vancouver cost £328 with Canadian Affair (020-7616 9184; canadianaffair.com).
Treehotel first captured imaginations last year thanks to its blend of art and nature, offering a woodland retreat where each self-contained room blended perfectly into the treetops of Harads wood in Sweden.
Among the most striking of the 24 hideaways, available to stay at from around $650 a night, was the Mirrorcube, a room of glass with a mirrored reflection that appeared to float effortless and nearly invisibly in the woods and contained a wooden bed.
In a unique twist, the Mirrorcube is also available for customers to buy and take home, enabling them to construct a treehouse-like hotel room for guests in their backyard, complete with queen-sized bed.
Still, for that astronomical price tag you get one of the world s coolest usa car rental hotel rooms, and Treehotel handles transport and construction of the Mirrorcube, which must be erected around an existing tree (or custom-made system) and is then hermetically sealed to avoid condensation.
Inside, the structure features an armchair, table and chairs, as well as a ladder to a roof terrace, complete with its own lounge chairs, although Treehotel warns that snow must be cleared if it s installed outside in the winter.
Electricity usa car rental is also needed to power the stylish Tham Videgård lighting, although there s no plumbing so emptying the waste tank is a regular chore for those that want to operate the Mirrorcube in their own backyards.
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