Hong Kong-based luxury travel consultancy, Charlotte Travel, has established a Singapore office to better serve its Asia-Pacific clientele of both high-end corporate and leisure travellers.
The Singapore operation is helmed by Louen Tang as managing director. He is supported by executive Adeline Wan.
CEO Charlotte Harris described the move as “organic and natural”, as Charlotte Travel has a loyal base of customers who are mobile between Hong Kong and Singapore.
In an interview with TTG Asia in Singapore, Harris said: “Some of our clients have moved from Hong Kong to Singapore in recent years, while others have started businesses here in the city. They have often asked when Charlotte Travel would set up shop in Singapore too, so as to better facilitate travel discussions. Those conversations sparked our interest.”
Harris expressed a familiarity and love for both Singapore and South-east Asia, a region where she had grown up in and often visited for work prior to joining the travel and tourism industry.
As such, Singapore was a natural choice when the consultancy begun to draw up expansion plans.
Tang commented that the new Singapore office would allow Charlotte Travel to build a stronger “foundation” in the region, as it would grant the consultancy closer access to a market that is “sophisticated” in its travel habits.
He observed that Singapore-based travellers are highly experiential and eager to spend on “interesting experiences, not just hardware”.
Harris believes that Charlotte Travel’s 25 years of experience in curated travel and vast insider destination knowledge will give her agency an advantage in meeting the exacting needs of the Singapore market.
Both Tang and Harris shared that their connections in destinations could open doors to special areas and unique local artisans. Tang, for instance, is a certified wine educator and is able to craft exclusive experiences at oenothèques for guests.
She cited Charlotte Travel’s recent endorsement by the Forbes Travel Guide as another advantage as she grows her operations in Asia-Pacific. The by-invite endorsement indicates a culture of service excellence in travel.
Furthermore, travellers will benefit from excellent products, experiences and support through Charlotte Travel’s affiliation with Virtuoso’s global network of fine travel suppliers. The agency has been a member of Virtuoso for a decade, and Harris said Charlotte Travel was the first Virtuoso member in Asia then.
Charlotte Travel’s entry into the Singapore market is matched by a roll out of women-centric itineraries that are “created by women, for women”.
Harris believes that these journeys will resonate with strong, independent and successful women in Singapore “who are often taking care of their business and people around them, but have little leisure time for themselves”.
“We created this concept to allow women to plug into curated journeys with other like-minded women, or take what we have and go off on their own or with their friends,” she added.
An example of a women-centric journey weaves through India, where guests will spend seven days accessing Delhi’s ateliers, Agra’s jewel houses, and Jaipur’s artisan workshops with restorative Ayurvedic wellness at Amanbagh.
“We have also created a wellness retreat for our female guests to learn more about menopause, how to prepare for it, and how to manage it,” she shared.
