EDITOR'S LETTER:

It’s been a funny old year, but for the travel industry, it has been one of great creativity and reinvention. Renaissance Downtown Hotel Dubai (page 54) opened on December 4th, scoring a double-whammy for having perfectly captured a sense of place and for tailoring its offerings at just the right pitch for discerning next-gen travellers. Travellers like Nick Walton, who visited Antarctica this month, eschewing the usual mid-sized cruise and set-play itinerary on a private charter voyage complete with expedition crew and Antarctic navigator (page 46). Art editor Kris Karacinski took to the tarmac in a Maserati Quattroporte GTS GranLusso this month, and Nikki Wallman immersed herself in the world of luxury travel to root out new reasons to travel, such as the opening of Tiffany’s Cafe in New York. One group of people who have it better than ever when it comes to individual service and personal attention is junior travellers – check out the latest child-friendly travel options on page 68. We’ll be back next month with news from the International Luxury Travel Market – the weathervane of the luxury travel industry – to find out what’s in store for 2018.