Wealthy people are embracing an anti-luxury travel trend by learning something old that is something new for them.
Something fascinating is happening in the world of high-end travel, and it’s the complete opposite of what you’d expect. People who could easily drop $2,000 a night on a penthouse suite are instead choosing to sleep in tiny village guest rooms and spend their mornings learning to make gnocchi from 80-year-old Italian nonnas. We’re talking about travelers who normally stay at places with gold-plated everything, now getting genuinely excited about helping Maria roll out fresh pasta dough in her 200-year-old kitchen. It’s like wealthy people suddenly realized that bragging about thread counts and champagne service feels hollow compared to saying, “I learned this recipe from a grandmother in Tuscany who’s been making it for 60 years.” The irony? These “authentic” experiences often cost more than luxury hotels. But apparently, you can’t put a price on the story of how Nonna Francesca taught you the secret to perfect ragu while her cat wandered around the kitchen.
Luxury is what you make of it
Some wealthy travelers might be tired of gold-plated everything or getting things handed to them. Instead, learning a real skill that can be trotted out for their friends and family might have much more meaning. These authentic travel experiences allow these rich people to learn about cooking with Italian nonnas, which might not seem like a luxury vacation, but that is what you make of it. For them, the engagement, the newness, and the simplicity of such an experience could be the luxury. They get to get their hands involved and actually do something, instead of being handed something.
A rising vacation trend
Just because a person is wealthy doesn’t mean they don’t care about people and don’t want authenticity in their lives. The anti-luxury travel trend of learning skills and enjoying cultural immersion travel can give people of all incomes a better understanding of the world, of how many people live, and offers hands-on experiences that allow people to be real with themselves and each other. This movement toward meaningful tourism allows rich people to get down and dirty and learn to improve their cooking skills, which they can share with their families and friends. Imagine giving or getting a gift that is handmade instead of store-bought. That seems much more genuine than items that come from a store.
Small villages offer real experiences
Instead of going to the most expensive luxury resort, this new trend in experiential luxury travel allows travelers to enjoy village cooking classes and authentic Italian experiences. This means getting to see how some people live, learning how to roll dough and pasta from women who have been doing it all their lives, and having much more authentic experiences than what might happen at a luxury resort. These wealthy travelers enjoy the local experiences in Italy, which take them off the tourism path and into small villages where they can enjoy the hands-on experience of cooking pasta the right way.
High-end travel is changing
Investors have spent millions of dollars creating the ultimate luxury experience for wealthy travelers, but some have begun the luxury travel backlash of choosing the anti-luxury travel trend of staying in villages learning how to roll pasta or other skill that allows them to enjoy the cultural immersion they won’t get anywhere else.
The kicker to the small-travel experience and staying with Italian nonnas to learn something they have been doing all their lives and likely learned from their parents and grandparents when they were little, is more experience in many ways than staying at a luxury resort.
Changes demanded
Affluent travelers have begin to ask many hotel and resort chains to add more local charm in international locations. That seems anti-establishment in a way, because many chains have spent year perfecting their high-end luxury build and experience, which is duplicated at every location. Now, instead of a cookie-cutter look and feel, travelers are looking for a bit of local flair whenever they travel to a new location.
Will you join the anti-luxury travel trend and learn a new skill during your next vacation? If you already know how to roll pasta or cook well, maybe you can find a skill that you want to learn in a new and interesting location. The benefits of authentic travel go well beyond the skills learned and the traditional touristy experience that you might find in the most popular places. Which nonna will you stay with? Will you allow them to give you orders and show you how to live the way they do?
