Indulgent explorers are a small, high-value traveler segment, defined by behavior, not just affluence. According to Phocuswright’s Quiet Luxury in Motion: The Indulgent Explorer Mindset, these travelers over-index on longer trips, higher in-destination spend and premium trip components. They are repeat premium travelers, with nearly three quarters typically taking multiple trips a year at the qualifying spend level.*
Importantly, a meaningful minority of this segment is not affluent: 30% have a household income under $100,000 and 26% have net worth under $100,000—suggesting indulgence often reflects prioritization and trade-offs.
Key takeaways:
- For indulgent explorers, inspiration is social-first overall (especially for Gen Z and millennials), but recommendations and bucket-list motivations rise with age. Travel advisors matter more as wealth rises.
- They balance destination and experience rather than being purely “experience led.” Fifty-two percent say both factor equally in their trip decisions, while 42% indicated that their choices were mostly destination based.
- Value is defined by protection and ease. Safety and security, food quality and privacy are core non-negotiables; service is the leading factor that makes the trip “worth it.”
Luxury is often discreet. Many want exclusive access but avoid broadcasting cost and resist trading privacy for personalization.
Product choices and premium signals
Indulgence isn’t always expressed through five-star hotels or first-class airfare. Lodging on indulgent trips skews toward hotels, but short-term rentals remain a meaningful part of the mix. Within hotels, the segment spans luxury, upscale and midscale stays, indicating that “indulgent” preferences can be satisfied or realized in other trip elements even when lodging is not consistently five-star.
Hotels split across chains and independent/boutique properties (chain 56% versus independent/boutique 44%), reinforcing that brand affiliation matters, but uniqueness and differentiation are also appealing.
* In this analysis, an “indulgent explorer” is defined as a traveler who took at least one leisure trip in the past 12 months that cost $1,500 or more per person per day including, but limited to lodging, cruise, meals, activities or excursions (excluding airfare).
Phocuswright's Quiet Luxury in Motion: The Indulgent Explorer
Phocuswright’s latest research introduces the “indulgent explorer,” a high-value traveler who defines premium through intentional choices, selective splurging and a clear sense of what feels worth it.