Northstar Travel Group Expands Luxury Footprint with Inaugural GTM Luxury Event
RUTHERFORD, NJ?– The inaugural GTM Luxury took place July 28-30, 2025 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ. GTM Luxury is the newest event in the GTM by Northstar portfolio and part of parent company, Northstar Travel Group’s expansion in the luxury travel market. GTM Luxury brought together a highly curated group of 80 luxury travel advisors from North America with global luxury suppliers for one-to-one meetings, boardroom presentations, and dynamic networking functions.
Northstar is expanding its luxury footprint in content, research and a global event portfolio. The GTM brand will soon reach across the globe. GTM Luxury Asia Pacific will debut April 14-15, 2026 in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore.
A growth in luxury content creation is planned with the addition of longtime luxury travel trade executive Ruthanne?Terrero as Luxury Content Director. Terrero will help guide the company’s growth in the luxury sector. Terrero was most recently the Vice President/Editorial Director of the Questex Travel Group and will be responsible for advisor acquisition for events, building supplier relationships and custom content development in the luxury travel market.
As
the luxury travel space continues its acceleration, research and trends are
critical. Northstar’s leading research brand, Phocuswright, is fielding a
special research project, the World of Luxury
Travel Study, which will be an in-depth analysis of the luxury travel persona.
Study findings will be published in the fall of 2025.
“GTM Luxury demonstrated our ability to bring the best buyers and sellers
together to expand the global travel marketplace. This newest event in our
portfolio shares the signature format of sister events, GTM West and GTM North
America, but focuses on the unique needs of the luxury travel sector,” said?Alicia
Evanko-Lewis, Executive Vice President, Global Events, Northstar Travel Group.
“GTM Luxury advisors are here to find the right partners to help them deliver
highly customized experiences to their high-net-worth clients.”
For the advisors, the caliber of supplier partners is critical. “The suppliers participating
in GTM Luxury understand that high touch point. They understand the
well-curated experience that clients are looking for at a luxury level. And
it's not that luxury is just about the price, it's about the experience,” said
Crystal Armstrong, Owner, Visually Rich Travel. “So many of the suppliers I've
met with have gone above and beyond to talk about the experiences that they
offer, how they can make everything very curated, very personalized to what my
clients are looking for, and that's what's important to me.”
The luxury focus of the event means that attendees can get right down to business. “GTM Luxury’s advisor qualifications and vetting process lead to a different conversation between suppliers and advisors,” said Kendall O’Malley, Backroads. “The advisor already knows that the supplier provides a luxury product, so you don't have to prove that you are luxury. And vice versa—I know they sell luxury. I already know I can trust them to sell my product, that they know the qualification processes to make sure that they are successful at selling Backroads.”
The second-annual GTM Luxury will take place January 22-24, 2026 at the JW Marriott LA Live in Los Angeles, CA. GTM North America will return to The Diplomat Beach Resort, July 9–11, 2026 in Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale, FL. GTM West is slated for August 4-6, 2026 at La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, CA. Advisors can find qualifications and more details on the application process for these industry-leading events at www.gtmbynorthstar.com/qualifications.
Contact Emmy Smotrys, Group Vice President of Sales, Retail Group & Phocuswright Events, at?ESmotrys@northstartravelgroup.com?or 201-902-1951 to learn more about participating as a supplier in a GTM by Northstar event or for more details on Phocuswright research.
About Northstar Travel Group
Northstar Travel Group is the leading B-to-B media company providing information and marketing solutions for the global travel industry. The company owns 14 media brands connecting 1.4 million industry professionals through a comprehensive portfolio of digital, social, print and more than 100 events in 13 countries. Northstar Travel Group is owned by EagleTree Capital. Headquartered in Rutherford, NJ, more information is available at?northstartravelgroup.com.
Contact:?
Catherine
Brask
Senior Marketing Director, Retail Events?
Northstar Travel Group
201-902-2000 ext. 2084
cbrask@ntmllc.com