Northstar

People Interview with Rosemarie Sama CEO and Founder, Luxperience She is the Founding Travelista of Luxperience, an event dedicated to matching high end suppliers with appropriate buyers so the world of the high end experiential travel market can prosper. We chat with Rosemarie Sama, on what's on her agenda for this upcoming event to be held from September 10 to 12, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. to expand their target audience exponentially through our pool of top tier buyers and suppliers. Q. Why Luxe? As economies continue to pick up, the demand for luxury travel continues to grow and diversify. With Luxperience, experiential travel providers who can offer these unique experiences and adventures to travellers will be able to reach out to global buyers as they continuously search for new and exciting experiences and destinations. Rosemarie Sama 8 Q. What inspires you to start Luxperience? Travel is an absolute passion of mine. I was very fortunate to be taken on a journey with my family at the age of 12 where we embarked on a four-month adventure to my parents' homeland in Italy, and throughout Europe and Asia. My parents would take us off the beaten track, away from the usual tourist hubs. We stayed with the locals and participated in their daily lives. We picked grapes, made wine, visited farms and came back home with fresh fruit and vegetables for our daily meals and really experienced the true culture. Connecting with the place and its people was an incredibly authentic experience and one I will never forget. I have brought this passion for travel and connecting to Luxperience. This is not just an event run over three days; it is a 365-day business exchange that provides luxury experiential travel providers with an abundance of networking opportunities to grow both their brand and their market share. What Luxperience has to offer in the industry is the ability to connect the world's top leaders in luxury travel and bespoke itineraries. In doing so, Luxperience enables these operators Q. You mentioned that your vision is "to inspire, guide and facilitate meaningful connections to drive the growth and support the success and sustainability of stakeholders in the luxury and experiential travel sector. What are these connections? Luxperience is primarily about making connections. Think of it as a matchmaker: it provides a venue for the world's most exclusive travel providers to meet; sets you up for appointments, dinners and networking events; and ensures that you meet the people you need to connect with. To make networking as easy and painless as possible, we've partnered with Poken, a new technology that lets participants and exhibitors exchange information, through RFID technology. The slick black Poken lets you collect information without having to carry business cards and lug around bulky brochures and pamphlets. Q. How big is the luxury market in the Asia Pacifi c? There is an increase in the high net worth experiential travellers from Asia and demand for holidays has gone up. The trend is also moving away from mass tourism to a more personal kind of travel. Travellers nowadays are more interested in a unique experience, with customised vacation packages. Whereas the US and Europe have been leading in this sector, Asia and Australia are also steadily gaining a foothold. Q. We know that India and China are the emerging markets when it comes to luxury. Which other countries should we look at when it comes to this segment of travellers? Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan are emerging markets in luxury travel. These Asian nations boast a strong economy with a well-travelled populace. In a few more years, these countries will most likely be major players in the global luxury travel industry. Q. What goes into the planning and managing of travel trade events? I believe that a community of people can achieve far greater things than a man or woman alone. We have a team of dedicated professionals working across all aspects of the event. This includes our Advisory Board who represents a cross section of the high end experiential travel industry to ensure the industry and its needs are well catered for from all angles. I am so excited to be bringing Luxperience to life with such an impressive team. We are dedicated to matching high end suppliers with appropriate buyers so the world of the high end experiential travel market can prosper. So think of Luxperience as one communal table where connecting is paramount, business is done and lifelong meaningful relationships are guaranteed. Q. What's your daily routine like? I wouldn't call it a routine as every day is so different, that's what makes Luxperience so inspirational for me – new contacts, new partnerships, new opportunities and new amazing experiences. Q. Tell us more about the event in September. How is it different from the International Luxury Travel Market that was held in Shanghai? Luxperience is unique because it is more than just a luxury travel event. It offers participants the ability to network not just during the event itself but also before and after; and enable them to create long-lasting relationships with key industry leaders and buyers. With LuxConnect, participants can upload their profi les online and connect with other participants and exhibitors. Luxperience recently announced a partnership with Poken – a new technology that allows tradeshow participants and exhibitors to interact via RFID tokens – providing fast and easy paperless networking. Q. How big a turnout are you expecting? Within the last couple of weeks, we have seen registration numbers doubling and we are very excited at how impressive the line-up is going to be. We have suppliers offering both experiential and bespoke travel itineraries, award- winning accommodations, to global VIP buyers from all over the world, including US, UK/Europe, Asia, Australia and even the Middle East. As we continue to receive strong interest, we are expecting a combined total of 400 luxury travel providers and buyers. Q. How would you evaluate its success? Our success is measured by our stakeholders. If we have provided the return on investment for our stakeholders and given them the opportunity to make connections that help their businesses thrive, then we have accomplished what we set out to do. Q. What's in the pipeline for Luxperience? What I can promise is that Luxperience will set the benchmark for travel industry events and we will continually strive to ensure we build the event to cater to the needs of our audience. We also have some incredible announcements regarding the future of Luxperience – and you will have to wait until the event in September to hear more! Events August 2012

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