Stephanie Malakie Selected as U.S. Luxury Travel Expert for Global Travel Advisor Panel

PAXNEWS.COM (August 12, 2026)

Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas featured a global travel advisor panel to discuss trends in luxury travel from around the globe. This elite panel of travel professionals included Empress Travel Club’s Founder & CEO, Stephanie Malakie, who was selected to represent the U.S. luxury travel market for the discussion.

The consensus across the panel was that “[t]ravellers are becoming more intentional about where their money goes. They’re seeking deeper experiences, reconsidering destinations when necessary, embracing smaller luxury cruise ships and, increasingly, looking to advisors to help separate genuine value from online hype.”

Stephanie emphasized the importance of intention within the luxury travel industry, noting that she thinks “[…]a lot of areas experiencing overtourism are feeling that, and we would love to see that go away. We would love to instead see more intentional, slowed-down travel where it's about spending time with the ones you love[.]”

From left: Stephanie Malakie, Empress Travel Club; Susan Lawson, VP, sales, marketing & partnerships, Trevello; Josie Turner, 360 Private Travel; Nicole Li, Alma Burton Luxury Travel. (Pax Global Media)