Antarctica and the Arctic sit at opposite ends of the planet, but at this week’s Luxury Travel Collection (LTC) Leaders Who Lunch, Quark Expeditions’ President, Sam Seward, made the case that they’re closer together than advisors might think; commercially and in what’s coming next for the category.
Held exclusively for LTC members at Soho, Jones Bay Wharf, in Sydney, the event brought some of Australia’s leading luxury travel advisors face-to-face with Seward for anunfiltered conversation on the changing polar traveller, Quark’s Australian growth and the strategy shaping its next chapter.
The experience also saw chef Mark Olive, of Middenrenown, reimagine Quark’s Tundra to Table concept through an Australian Indigenous lens, with a degustation inspired by the polar specialist’s Indigenous-led culinary experience on select Arctic voyages.
“Demand has caught up with and overtaken capacity,” Seward told the room, revealing Quark’s Australian business is currently 22 per cent ahead of last year, with travellers booking earlier, selecting more premium cabins and choosing longer itineraries.
Quark has responded by launching its 2028/29 season six months earlier than usual.
“We are growing really, really successfully here in Australia,we’re 22 per cent ahead of last year and honestly, for that we have to thank you guys. It’s really down to the support we get from our trade partners,” Seward said.
Seward also shared further detail on Quark’s recently announced newbuild partnership with APT Travel Group, which will see a new PC6 ice-class vessel enter service in 2029, while revealing the polar specialist has ambitions for further fleet growth.
hearing from chef Mark Olive about the menu he has crafted for the Leaders Who Lunch.
Despite those ambitions, Seward said Quark intends to remain resolutely specialised.“We just do polar. We are unapologetically polar only,” he said.
For Nikki Glading, General Manager of LTC, the event demonstrated both the strength of LTC’s luxury cruise proposition and the depth of the relationships behind it.
“LTC has the strongest luxury cruise offering in the market, but what truly sets us apart is the depth of our partner relationships and increasingly we’re seeing global leadersprioritise time with LTC members when they’re in market,” Glading said.
Hunt and Sam Seward, with Shannon Fogarty, Luxury Travel Collection.
“That depth of partnership is also reflected in the benefits we’re able to secure for our members and their clients. We’re incredibly proud that Quark has chosen LTC as the only global network to offer an exclusive experience, available solely to LTC clients.”
“Our Leaders Who Lunch seriesis a powerful expression of that partnership. Sam wasn’t here to deliver a sales presentation; he was here to have a candid, strategic conversation about Quark and our members come away with the insight, relationships and access to advise their clients with genuine authority.”
Leaders Who Lunch is an exclusive LTC member series connecting its luxury travel advisors with the global leaders, innovators and decision-makers shaping the future of luxury travel.
Lead image: From left, Tenille Hunt, Quark Expeditions; Dani Galloway, Flight Centre Travel Group; Sam Seward, Quark Expeditions and Nikki Glading, Luxury Travel Collection.
