The all-inclusive model introduced by HX Expeditions has “proved itself very well” over the past year, according to CEO Gebhard Rainer, as growing global demand for expedition cruising continues to reshape the market.

Speaking to LATTE during a visit to Sydney this week, Rainer confirmed that the all-inclusive concept had been “really well accepted by our customers.” “One of the things that they wanted to have is a simplification in terms of planning for their own vacations,” he explained.

Rainer, who joined HX from all-inclusive hospitality brand Sandals, added that the approach has also helped to redefine perceptions of the term “all-inclusive”. “It had this stigma attached that once it’s all-inclusive, it must be cheap, it must be cheerful, it must be not good quality – but none of that really applies anymore,” he pointed out.

“You can still have it, but there is differentiation and with us over this last year now, your inclusive concept really proved very well. Our customers are very happy with and operationally, it works very well as well.”

While he “absolutely” sees HX as an all-inclusive pioneer within the expedition cruise sector, the spread of the all-inclusive model from hospitality into other segments in recent years has made HX’s own transition an easier concept for both consumers and the trade to grasp, according to Rainer.

“All inclusive has really spread from hospitality into other segments as well. It’s not the norm yet, but it’s become the new desire of many areas to come up with the simplicity of pricing an experience, without having to nickel and dime the consumer along that journey,” he said.

That simplicity has resonated strongly amid what Rainer described as “very healthy growth” in global demand for expedition travel. “The market since 2019 pre-pandemic has grown over 70% in expedition, in terms of demand – consumer demand and consumer purchase,” he said. “The US market has seen year over year growth of over 50%. The Australia, New Zealand market has seen close to 30% growth year over year.”

With greater demand comes greater competition, but Rainer is adamant this is good news for HX. “Competition is healthy. It helps expedition to be more exposed and be more seen,” he said.

But he expects the landscape to shift further over the coming years. “I think there’s going to be a natural selection or natural cleansing,” he predicted. “Because within the field of companies that are there now, there’s too many onesies and twosies. “There [are] small ones that would have difficulty surviving. We’ve seen the beginning of that already with Exploris in France that just declared bankruptcy. And I think there’s going to be others that will emerge and and collapse into larger organisations.”

Amid these competitive shifts, Rainer sees HX’s future as certain thanks to its clear point of difference around science and sustainability. “The advantage that we have, or the advantage that we have built, is the fact that we are the only ones at the moment that are clearly focused on sustainability, science and education,” he said.

“We work with over 30 different scientific institutes around the world. We have constantly scientists on board that work on projects. Every one of our ships has professional science lab as well. All of our customers can participate as science citizen scientists.”

He referred to HX’s recent expansion of its partnership with UTAS as case in point, with the free educational series extended to cover Arctic destinations.

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The fledgling Patina offshoot of Capella Hotels and Resorts will be the first hotel brand to successfully bridge the worlds of luxury and lifestyle, according to hospitality leader Neil Jacobs.

The Wild Origins Founder and former boss of Six Senses took an advisory role with Capella in July this year.

Speaking at Further East in Bali last week, Jacobs described Patina as a “brand with legs”, that captures the sophistication of high-end hospitality while embracing the energy of modern lifestyle brands.

“I think the gap that Patina is going to fill is, everyone talks about lifestyle, and you have a perception of what a lifestyle hotel is which generally is not super high end, and then you have a luxury hotel, which is a luxury hotel,” Jacobs said.

“We believe that the space for Patina is that intersection between the two and that you can have a luxury lifestyle hotel, just that nobody really has done that yet.”

Currently, Patina operates in two locations – the flagship Patina Maldives, Fari Islands and Patina Osaka which opened in May this year. But the momentum is growing: Jacobs confirmed that four to five more Patina projects are now under development across Asia and Europe.

In conversation with Jacobs, Capella Vice President Lifestyle Lexie Rodriguez highlighted brand clarity as the cornerstone of Patina’s strategy.

“We clearly have different points of view for both Capella and Patina,” she stressed, specifying that the “more progressive” Patina brand invites guests to “participate in the now”. “It allows the brands to complement each other in a group rather than compete.”

Both speakers underscored that Patina’s success will depend on maintaining a disciplined sense of purpose while adapting locally to each destination. “What a Patina is going to look like in Osaka is going to be very different than what another Patina will look like in a city in Europe,” she explained.

Ensuring the market is aware of these differences within each brand portfolio is crucial, but so too is getting across the differentiation between Capella and Patina, according to Jacobs. “We are trying to do a better job at is to absolutely communicate the differentiation between Capella and Patina,” he said. “They stand on their own.”

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Luxury travel show specialist This is Beyond is entering a new phase of growth, with Founder & CEO Serge Dive confirming that the company will expand its portfolio of events following its recent acquisition by Emerald Holdings.

The deal was confirmed in March and includes the company’s series of seven events around the globe include PURE Life Experiences in Marrakesh, L.E Miami and Further East.

Speaking to LATTE at Further East in Bali last week, Dive explained that the deal provides a stronger platform for growth while maintaining the company’s long-held focus on quality, creativity and connection worldwide.

Dive confirmed he plans to stay on with the company to drive it forwards, specifying that four new shows are on the cards with launches expected in 2026, backed by the financial and operational power of the Emerald investment. And although his ongoing tenure is a condition of the acquisition, he confirmed that he is “happy to do so.”

Meanwhile, he explained that this year’s edition of Further East continues to reply on its tried-and-tested formula, with a similar mix of leading hotels and resorts and destination management companies as previous years, although with an increased presence from the cruise sector. “It’s very much about showcasing the best of the APAC region,” he said. “We aim to present the very best, the most promising properties and experiences in Asia.”

As a result, prospective exhibitors are carefully vetted to ensure they meet the show’s high standards, according to Dive. “The idea for us is that we want trade show to be more like car shows,” he shared. “When you go to a car show, you don’t want to see a bunch of used cars, you want to see the future of automobiles.”

While the 2025 edition of Further East maintained a strong turn-out of resort destinations, plans are already in motion to broaden its focus. “Next year we really want to focus more on city hotels and having a more varied experience across Asia,” Dive said. He also expects cruise to play a larger role in future shows as the sector continues to adapt to evolving definitions of luxury,

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Luxury hospitality is facing an identity crisis with too many hotel brands becoming “homogenous”, according to Wild Origins Founder Neil Jacobs.

Speaking at Further East in Bali this week, the former head of Six Senses who is now working with Capella Hotel Group, warned that too many brands have become indistinguishable, and that only those with clear, purpose-driven narratives will survive.

“However good they are, they’re all doing the same thing,” he stated in his onstage conversation with Capella’s Vice President Lifestyle Lexie Rodriguez.

For Jacobs, the fundamentals of “great food, a beautiful building, a really comfortable bed and very good service” are no longer enough to win loyalty. “That’s kind of a given if you want to play in that world,” he pointed out.

What separates leading brands now is story and substance. “The brands that are really chipping away at market share are those with a very clear narrative, a very defining story that perhaps is not going to appeal to everybody – and that’s okay,” he said.

Sustainability as strategy

Jacobs was candid about the industry’s failings on environmental issues. “Sustainability is kind of a bad word,” he said. “We have a horrible reputation in hospitality when it comes to really executing.”

But he insisted the opportunity lies in turning ethics into economics. “Apart from being the right thing to do, it is the commercially right thing to do as well. A lot of these things are win–win, if you present them in a good way.”

At Six Senses, Jacobs pioneered programs such as eliminating single-use plastics and installing visible water purification systems that became guest experiences in themselves. “We bought that plant from back of house to front of house, and we made it a thing,” he said. “Guests were seeing the process… and it became a standard.”

The same ethos is now shaping Capella and its younger sister brand, Patina, as they build a unified sustainability framework.

Community and Wellness as Core Values

Sustainability is among the areas taking on a new importance as today’s traveller seeks connection and contribution, according to Jacobs. “How are [guests] able to contribute and be part of creating a better world?” he asked. Capella and Patina now focus on collaborations with local artists and musicians to build “community-led brands rather than marketing-led ones.”

Wellness too has climbed the agenda in a big way, evolving from an amenity to an expectation since the pandemic. “Who talked about wellness the way everybody is talking about wellness today?” he noted. The next frontier, he said, is longevity and holistic wellbeing.

Looking ahead, he sees hospitality transforming into integrated lifestyle ecosystems, evolving beyond rooms and restaurants to create spaces where hotels, clubs, residences, and communities coexist. “The customer is not a hotel guest,” he said. “The customer is the resident of that environment.”

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The travel industry must shift its focus from logistics to emotions as the definition of luxury, once synonymous with excess, is rewritten, according to This is Beyond Founder and CEO Serge Dive.

Speaking to LATTE during Further East in Bali, Dive explained that the key trend he is seeing is a pivot from the superficial to the profound. “We can no longer live in a world of excess,” he said. “Presence is the luxury now.”

This new definition of indulgence isn’t about caviar and champagne, it’s silence, stillness and the feeling of being completely in the moment – ever more elusive in this digital age. “The idea of coming back to our animal self should be the goal of every travel provider – because this is where we are happy.”

For travel operators, that means changing the way they approach business. “Hotels can be the mixologists of emotion – mixologists of destiny,” Dive explained. In his view, the most forward-thinking brands are now designing experiences that evoke emotional chemistry through the release of dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins.

Instead of selling itineraries, they are curating feelings. “We live in a surprise economy,” he says. “Adventure means what must happen without purpose.” Over-planning simply kills the magic so he advised operators to leave room for surprise. “Craft storylines, not schedules,” he said.

This also means letting go of perfection – increasingly prevalent given the rise of AI and automation. “So people will start to re-embrace the humanity behind the product and its imperfections,” he predicted.

He pointed to the popularity of hand-crafted watches that may be sometimes inaccurate, and the return to vinyl records with their scratches as signs that consumers are rediscovering beauty in imperfection.

In this new landscape, sustainability isn’t a marketing trend but a change of mindset, according to Dive. “Everybody talks about sustainability,” he said, “but it’s more about longevity – designing something that lasts.”

He believes that longevity applies not only to the environment but to the traveller’s own sense of wellbeing. In his view, experiences that connect people with nature and community – rather than isolate them in luxury bubbles – will be those that endure.

True high-end travel is therefore about removing filters rather than adding them – comfort is important but not the objective. “We’re not selling memories – we’re selling the present,” he stressed. “The memory is just the by-product.”

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The fast-changing face of cruise is seeing the sector assume a new importance amid the Asia Pacific luxury travel market, according to This is Beyond Founder & CEO Serge Dive.

Speaking to LATTE at trade show Further East, currently underway in Bali, Dive shared that a shift is underway in terms of cruise’s role in the region, with a marked shift toward “boutique and small luxury cruises” rather than mass-market offerings.

“People want a more intimate experience rather than a crowded ship,” he pointed out, referring to a growing trend toward personalisation, exclusivity and unique experiences.

Fortunately, there is a burst of new product that caters perfectly to these requirements. And while, traditionally, the show has featured yachting companies rather than cruise lines, this is shifting. Cruise still does not have a large presence at the show, but he expects this to “definitely” change in the coming years.

At this year’s show, both Aqua Expeditions and Heritage Line are in attendance, illustrating Dive’s assertion that luxury and small-ship operators are leading the way in this transformation. He highlighted both companies for offering “hyper-luxury small boats” designed to provide “luxury, calm, and immersive experiences”. These vessels focus on fewer guests, ensuring that every journey feels personalised and tailored to individual preferences, he explained.

The result of this approach is “unfiltered holidays”, where travellers can engage more authentically with the environment and culture, without the constraints of large crowds or rigid schedules.

This trend aligns with a broader shift in customer expectations, with modern cruise travellers increasingly seeking out “experiential, intimate, and transformational travel,” according to Dive.

“There is more and more of that offering taking place in the market,” he said. “People want to have an experience which is more intimate, and where you get to travel without unpacking your luggage every day.”

The small-ship model allows for deeper cultural engagement and a stronger sense of connection with the journey, which resonates with today’s audience, according to Dive.

“It’s a real trend,” he said. “Before people wanted to look at the sea. Now they want to be on the sea, in the sea. It’s a trend we’re seeing because it’s very calming in many ways.”

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As global research budgets shrink, HX Expeditions is turning adventure tourism into a lifeline for science, transforming its fleet of polar vessels into floating research hubs.

The expedition cruise line’s unconventional approach to environmental responsibility provides scientists with rare access to the world’s most remote regions while engaging travellers directly in scientific discovery.

The initiative comes at a critical time. “Many governments are cutting funding for research and support to science,” HX’s Chief Scientist Dr Verena Meraldi told a media event in Sydney last week. “We have a huge responsibility to step up. It’s our planet—we need to look after it.” Getting to the polar regions, they added, “is incredibly difficult” and “incredibly expensive,” so HX’s willingness to provide transport and infrastructure has proven invaluable.

The company’s mission goes beyond supporting professional researchers, with HX actively involving guests in citizen science projects, transforming travellers into contributors to real environmental monitoring.

Through initiatives like Happy Whale, guests photograph whales during expeditions, upload the images to a shared platform, and later receive updates when the same whale is spotted once again. Other activities include plankton sampling, microscopic analysis of bird feathers, and environmental impact studies—all conducted in the ship’s onboard Science Centre.

“We are really trying to wake up the curious child in all of us,” Meraldi said. “Once you have managed to get people’s attention, they want to know more, to involve themselves more.”

Education has become central to the HX philosophy. In partnership with the University of Tasmania (UTAS), the company last year launched a free Antarctic learning course, taken by over 2,300 travellers.

“Ninety-eight percent of people that had done the course said they felt more aware of their responsibilities after going to Antarctica,” Meraldi reported. Following that success, HX has announced plans to expand its curriculum to include Arctic destinations such as Greenland, Svalbard, and Alaska.

Since its debut, HX’s partnership with UTAS has evolved into a model of collaboration between tourism and research. In 2024 alone, HX hosted “over 80 researchers and more than 20 research projects.” The studies span a wide range of disciplines – from marine biology and spatial science to creative arts and environmental communication – making HX’s ships vital platforms for data collection and education.

For in Meraldi’s view, sustainability isn’t an add-on – it’s an obligation. “Success isn’t just about a balance sheet,” she stressed. “It’s really about how we change behaviour, how we engage people in the destination, and what they do afterwards.

“We do not protect what we don’t know, what we don’t understand,” one scientist said. “By helping people understand, we change how they live.”

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Six Senses Fiji has announced a new partnership with the luxury yacht Mischief, offering travellers the chance to combine an island stay with a private cruise through Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands.

Speaking to travel partners during a breakfast event aboard Mischief, Six Senses Fiji General Manager Mark Kitchen said the collaboration was designed to help agents create tailor-made experiences for discerning clients.

“Your clients can enjoy maybe a couple of nights on Six Senses, and then step aboard Mischief for a few nights, cruising through the Mamanucas – or the other way around, whatever works for your client,” he said.

He added that the partnership will come with supporting materials to help agents spark interest among travellers. “There’ll be a little bit more information about that going forward, and a couple of little books to spark the interest of your clients.”

Managing the bookings for Mischief is Ahoy Club, a family-owned and run yacht charter and brokerage company with a Sydney presence. “Mischief had her first season in Fiji this winter, or first official charter season, and did about six weeks of back-to-back charters,” Charter Manager Sophie Wood said.

She revealed that the idea for the Six Senses partnership occurred organically after several guests combined both experiences on their own. “We had a few guests charter – they stopped at Six Senses for lunch and got to enjoy the resort as well,” she shared. “That’s kind of what really sparked us thinking, as well as inquiries coming especially from American clients saying they wanted to experience the yacht, but they also wanted to stay at a resort.”

To make the collaboration even more flexible, Ahoy Club has adjusted its minimum stay policy. “We’ve now reduced the minimum stay on the boat for one night,” Wood said. “So if guests want to stay at the Six Senses for their week or four nights, and then do one night on Mischief or four nights on Mischief, we can make all of that work.”

With a full-time crew of 14, including a massage therapist, Mischief also carries “eight dive sets on board” for clients who want to explore Fiji’s world-class reefs.

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Fiji’s tourism industry is undergoing a transformation, redefining itself as a premier destination for luxury travellers, according to Tourism Fiji Trade Engagement Manager Juliet Miall.

Speaking at a recent Tourism Fiji event aboard luxury yacht Mischief, Miall reflected on how far the nation has come in repositioning itself as a high-end destination. “When I first started at Tourism Fiji, luxury was not really a thing because we got judged on the number of people that go to the country,” she said.

However, luxury travellers spend more in destination, she pointed out, saying that this reality prompted her to try to shift the focus. “I wanted to be judged by the top-level luxury that we can bring to Fiji,” she said. “And I think we’ve done that really, really well.”

Fiji’s luxury offering has matured significantly now with between 10 and 12 “true luxury” resorts, according to Miall. “In the old days, Turtle Island was the only luxury resort in Fiji, and now we’ve got just so many beautiful resorts,” she told LATTE.

“We’re seeing a lot more luxury going to Fiji. It used to be like, ‘I’m not going to just Fiji,’ but now it’s, ‘I’m going to Fiji,’ and people are proud to talk about that at their barbecues or cocktail parties.”

From the famed Coral Coast to world-class island resorts, Fiji is now home to “beautiful luxury properties,” she continued.

“Six Senses is at the top of its game with that, and now we can introduce accommodations with ships like Mischief — it doesn’t get any better, and it’s so close, it’s so easy, it’s family friendly. It’s everything you know and love about Fiji.”

The expansion of Fiji’s high-end market has also attracted new demographics, particularly multi-generational families. “Grandma and grandpa pay to take all the kids to Six Senses,” Miall noted.

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The creation of a new ultra-luxury boutique tier by Sri Lanka’s Uga Resorts aims to provide greater clarity for guests and trade partners.

The segmenting of its portfolio into two distinct tiers will roll out in the next few months, Uga Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing Marcelline Paul told LATTE. Properties that will sit in the new top tier will include Uga Chena Huts, Uga Ulagalla, Uga Haloowella, Uga Riva, Uga Prava and newcomer Uga Ghiri which will open in June 2026.

“These properties offer exceptionally private suites, elevated dining experiences and immersive encounters with wildlife and local culture,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the premium lifestyle tier will feature larger properties that are up to 60 keys. The Bay and Jungle Beach an Uga Experience will sit within this category. “These resorts cater to modern luxury travellers seeking relaxed beach or active lifestyle experiences within refined settings,” he said.

Paul stressed that the brand’s core values will remain consistent across all properties with both tiers equally critical to its future growth. But he pointed out that the restructure will allow Uga to “address different traveller motivations more effectively”.

“The segmentation helps distinguish between intimate, experiential luxury and contemporary, lifestyle-focused hospitality, ensuring each property category speaks directly to its target audience,” he said.

Paul also shared further details of Uga Ghiri, which will take its overall portfolio to eight properties when it opens in June 2026.

Located in Sri Lanka’s highlands on an historic 10-acre Sutherland tea estate, Uga Ghiri will overlook Nine Arches Bridge.

“It will be the first true luxury resort in Ella, featuring 15 high-end villas of 1,400 square feet each with outdoor jacuzzis,” he said. “The villas will offer views of either the iconic Nine Arches Bridge or the rolling tea plantations, complemented by an infinity pool and unique dining outlets.”

The new property will cater to growing demand for “off-the-beaten-path experiences”, according to Paul, with its relaxed atmosphere, hiking trails and colonial heritage expected to make it a popular option for discerning travellers.

Meanwhile, Paul underscored the importance of the Australian market for Uga Resorts thanks to the local love of experiential travel and boutique luxury.

“Prior to the pandemic, Australia ranked as the third largest source market for Uga Resorts,” he said. “Following the disruption of COVID-19, the Australian market is demonstrating significant recovery, with Uga Resorts experiencing a remarkable 72% growth from this market over the past year.

“This resurgence aligns with broader trends showing strong performance in the luxury sector across the region and Australian travellers’ preference for purpose-driven experiences, including spa retreats and culinary tourism.”

A broad engagement strategy targeting strengthened trade partnerships is therefore being implemented, alongside visits and marketing campaigns, Paul confirmed.

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