Luxury Numbers, Wellness Standards, Disney Magic and Royal

Hi, Managing Editor Kate Zaliznock prolonged the courtesy of providing me the chance to write down this week’s Smart Travel column, and I jumped on the probability. Today is my fifteenth day serving as Smart Meetings senior editor and group concierge, and I’m genuinely excited to affix such a whip-smart workforce. I reduce my enamel writing about journey for Frommers.com, the place I had the privilege to work for 13 years, first as an internet producer, then as the location’s editorial director. But, sufficient about me. Let’s have a look at some information objects that ought to intrigue any skilled assembly planner.

The journey trade continues to ship headline-worthy developments this week, from robust luxurious demand to new wellness benchmarks, cruise ship debuts and theme park surprises.

Luxury Travel Defies Gravity

At Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, the luxurious consortium made it clear: Its clients aren’t following mainstream journey slowdowns. According to Virtuoso’s database, the common reserving window has held regular at 122 days, bucking the broader development of last-minute journey. Sales throughout accommodations, cruises and excursions are all up double digits, with lodge bookings main at a outstanding 25.5% year-over-year improve within the first half of 2025.

Read More: The Changing Definition of Luxury

In March 2025, there was some concern that such progress was unsustainable.

“We didn’t have any cancellations,” Brownell Travel’s Kerry Dyer mentioned, “we just had a pause.”

This momentum extends ahead, too—2026 bookings are already trying “awesome,” in accordance Dyer. Even as general journey lengths ticked barely down (from 8.1 days to 7.8). Incentive journey planners would do nicely to heed the teachings right here: luxurious journey stays standard, however cautious planning is required to safe these bookings.

Hotels Confront ‘Wellness-Washing’

For accommodations, the bar on wellness has simply been raised. The Wellness in Travel & Tourism (WITT) group and the Wellness Tourism Association (WTA) have partnered to launch Core Wellness Standards for Hotels—a set of 12 standards designed to assist friends distinguish between advertising and marketing spin and genuine well-being. Covering wholesome consuming, holistic therapeutic, nature integration, motion alternatives and native influence, the requirements name for every little thing from inclusive meal choices and restful sleep environments to significant ties with native tradition.

Read More: Caesars Wellness Roadshow Event Resonates

“Wellness travel is no longer a niche—it’s a priority,” mentioned Oxana Spivey of WITT. These pointers intention to offer credibility to properties that actually ship on the promise, and they’re requirements that assembly profs ought to take to coronary heart.

Disney Doubles Down on Attractions

Disney is continually reinventing components and parcels of its theme parks and properties, which makes it engaging to planners on the lookout for one thing new for incentive journey. Orlando is gearing up for a blockbuster 2026, with Walt Disney World unveiling a wave of attraction updates. The largest buzz is round Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the place the long-running Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will probably be reimagined as Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring the Muppets, that includes The Electric Mayhem in a psychedelic, one-night-only live performance expertise.

The Magic Kingdom isn’t omitted: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will reopen with recent particular results, together with a mysterious new Rainbow Caverns sequence. At Animal Kingdom, friends received’t have to attend till 2026 for brand spanking new experiences—the 4D present “Zootopia: Better Zoogether!” opens this November, full with character greetings exterior the theater. Meanwhile, Star Wars followers can stay up for a brand new journey on Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run, impressed by “The Mandalorian” and Grogu.

Royal Caribbean’s ‘Star of the Seas’ Shines Bright

On the excessive seas, Royal Caribbean is making waves with its second Icon-class ship, Star of the Seas. Though bigger than its sibling Utopia of the Seas, the ship carries fewer passengers, giving friends extra room to unfold out. Among its standout options: seven swimming pools, the Category 6 waterpark and the infinity-edge Hideaway Pool. Suite friends take pleasure in unique perks at The Grove, whereas thrill-seekers can check their braveness on Crown’s Edge, a skywalk and ropes course 154 ft above the ocean with a shock drop finale.

Dining is one other spotlight—the brand new AquaDome Market introduces recent flavors like Cuban sandwiches at La Cocinita and pad thai at Mai Thai. Entertainment additionally shines, with “Back to the Future: The Musical” debuting onboard to rave evaluations, alongside an creative ice-skating manufacturing. Looking forward, Royal Caribbean is already charting its subsequent strikes: a 3rd Icon ship (Legend of the Seas) in 2026, a brand new Discovery sequence of smaller ships and even an entry into river cruising by 2027.