Lightfoot Travel is a luxury tour operator with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and very soon, Dubai. Specialising indesigning family holidays, honeymoons, private villas and corporate travel, Lightfoot is the leading bespoke tour company in Asia.
HONG KONG – Hong Kong Co-founder and Director Lucy Jackson’s roots in Asia go back over a hundred years to her great, great grandfather, Sir Thomas Jackson, who helped finance the expansion of colonial Hong Kong during his tenure as the Chairman of HSBC from 1876 to 1902. Having worked for three of the leading tailor-made travel companies in the UK for almost a decade, Jackson too felt the pull of Asia, opening Lightfoot Travel’s Hong Kong office in 2011.
“‘Intertwined with my family history, Hong Kong has always fascinated me. While visiting friends in the city four years ago, I realised there was a gap in the market for niche designer holidays, and within 2 months I had shipped myself out to Hong Kong for some initial market research. With business partners Simon Cameron and Nico Heath, we replicated the model they had just launched in Singapore, and our expansion of Lightfoot began,” explains Lucy Jackson.
While small in size, Hong Kong is home to a considerable population of high net worth individuals with both the desire and means for frequent travel. There is a continual touch point with clients who travel, on average, 5 times a year for leisure as opposed to the 1-2 times a year as in the UK. The city also enjoys prime positioning in Asia, on the doorstep of a range of destinations with dozens of airlines providing frequent and convenient transfers.
“We often meet with clients face to face, to discuss their travel plans for the year ahead in order to maximize the plentiful public holidays getaways, as well as the larger lifetime trips – increasingly the sabbatical/career break. Recently we had a client planning 14 varying trips including Antarctica, a European vineyard tour, a beach fly and flop to the Maldives, safaris in Africa, a private villa in Sri Lanka, trekking and diving in Malaysian Borneo, as well as the World Cup Finals in Brazil. Some were long weekends, whilst others were a month long,” says Jackson.
The nature of Hong Kong being an international hub also lends itself to catering for multi-generational family holidays that come together to meet halfway.This is particularly popular for our expatriate clients where different siblings and friends might ‘meet in the middle’ for a big villa booking.
“When families come together the grandparents might fly in from the UK, America or Australia, and meet their children and grandchildren for two weeks in destinations such as Thailand or Indonesia, particularly over the preferred holiday seasons of Christmas and Easter,” says Jackson.
Due to the huge demand, the travel market in Asia is extremely dynamic with new properties opening every week, and the constant search for the ‘next Phuket’, or hot new destination. Lightfoot Travel takes pride in its position at the forefront of the luxury travel industry, and allocates considerable resources to ensuring it maintains its reputation as leaders in the field. Over the past year Jackson has travelled to currently trending destinations such as Myanmar and Bhutan, as well as visited unique properties like Amanjiwo on Indonesia’s island of Java and Koh Samui’s wellness sanctuary Kamalaya in Thailand. She also led a press trip to Indonesia’s remote Sumba Island, to stay at the spectacular eco-resort of Nihiwatu.
“Asia is in vogue right now. Compared to other parts of the world, there is an emphasis on value for money with chic designer flair, plus service levels are amongst the best in the world. A significant proportion of our clients come from the UK, looking to Lightfoot as their man on the ground in Asia – they want to know not only which properties to stay in but also advice and bookings for the cool new restaurants, stylish bars and new experiences.”
Asia is known for its love of designer products and the market now has designer travel with Lightfoot in situ. The lust for international travel has extended beyond the realms of the expatriate traveller and now incorporates Lightfoot’s luxury travel seekers who are savvy global nomads looking for inspiration, trusted recommendations and insider expertise – Lightfoot Travel fills this gap.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
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