The Luxury Travel Collection (LTC) has partnered with Uga Escapes to launch its first destination immersion famil, deepening cultural connections and destination know-how in the rising luxury hotspot of Sri Lanka.
LTC says the initiative is part of a wider strategy to equip its advisors with more nuanced cultural literacy, empowering them to design bespoke journeys that resonate more deeply with increasingly conscious luxury travellers.
According to Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) booking trends cited by LTC, interest in Sri Lanka rose by 14 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 year-on-year, reflecting a resurgence of curiosity about the island’s cultural depth, sensory richness, and boutique offerings. The destination’s blend of heritage storytelling, design-led stays, and warm hospitality made it a compelling choice for the program’s debut.
“Sri Lanka is rapidly emerging as a luxury hotspot,” LTC General Manager Nikki Glading noted, pointing to Uga Escapes’ commitment to immersive, high-touch hospitality as a natural alignment with LTC’s ethos.
Participants on the famil visited a curated selection of Uga’s properties while engaging directly with local artisans, cultural custodians and culinary experts, experiences designed to build emotional as well as factual knowledge of the destination.
“At LTC, immersion is more than a concept; it’s a philosophy,” said Glading. “Today’s luxury traveller craves meaning, connection, and authenticity.”
In a move that the group says sets a new benchmark for the industry, each LTC participant was invited to bring a travelling companion, something rarely offered on land-based famils and traditionally reserved for cruise-based programs.
“Thanks to the generosity of Uga Escapes, the inclusion of companions brought an entirely new dimension to the famil format,” Glading said. “It enhanced both connection and insight in powerful ways.”
LTC suggests that this format not only heightened the personal resonance of each experience but also reflected a wider trend toward shared travel that blends professional development with authentic human connection.
Uga Escapes, part of LTC’s Galeries de Lux e network, curated the itinerary to reflect values of authenticity, bespoke luxury and deep cultural connection. From Ayurvedic wellness rituals to heritage walks and farm-to-table culinary sessions, the famil was designed to reveal Sri Lanka’s “soulful essence”.
Sales Manager for Uga Resorts, Nilika De Alwis, said the program aimed to allow advisors to “step beyond the traditional travel lens” and experience the country through the intimate lens of Uga’s distinctive properties and local partnerships.
The initiative also reinforced the strength of the LTC-Uga partnership, with both parties signalling future collaborative potential in the experiential luxury travel space.
This Sri Lanka famil marks just the beginning of LTC’s broader destination immersion strategy. As seen at recent showcase events, like the Brisbane industry gathering attended by more than 350 delegates and dubbed “a who’s who of the luxury travel industry”, LTC is clearly committed to growing both its network and its experiential offerings.
The Luxury Travel Collection says more programs are planned across trending global destinations, each designed to build deeper destination knowledge, elevate advisor inspiration, and reinforce LTC’s mission to set the standard for luxury travel advisory.
KARRYON UNPACKS This inaugural LTC immersion famil in Sri Lanka signals a strategic shift in how luxury travel advisors are engaged and educated. By prioritising destination authenticity and sustainability and allowing companions to join, the program reimagines the traditional famil as a more emotionally resonant, high-touch experience.
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In the spirit of reconciliation, Karryon acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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