Jamie Ndah talks to Stuart McNair and discusses luxury travel, unique gastronomic experiences, wildlife documentaries and Polar Bears in the Arctic.

LM: How long have you been working in the luxury travel industry and where did your journey begin?
SM: I have been in the travel industry for 18 years now. After backpacking for a few years I started my travel career at ‘Bridge The World’ selling Australia and New Zealand holidays. I hold such fantastic memories from working there. In fact, I am still friends today with the group I started with. I then moved on to have a great career in corporate travel looking after large American banks and city financials. Following this I went onto entertainment travel, looking after celebrities and bands on tour. Finally, I launched Luxury Travel Advisors just two years ago.

LM: What was your first luxury travel experience?
SM: I will always remember travelling in business class for the first time with Qantas to Sydney, back when you could go and meet and sit with the pilot in the cockpit. However, the first real luxury travel encounter that I experienced was a private jet tour around the outback of Australia, meeting real locals with amazing stories. We still talk about this trip now 16 years later.

LM: Tell our Luxurious Magazine readers a little about Luxury Travel Advisors.
SM: We are a boutique tour operator selling luxury travel experiences based on seven themes, Wonders, Wilderness, Art, Style, Gastronomy, Wellness & Extremes. One of our unique propositions is we can combine these interests for clients to create a unique holiday. We also create our own unique tours, such as our flagship ‘Star in your own wildlife documentary’ and our recently launched ‘Chef’s Table’ tours.

LM: What is your personal definition of luxury?
SM: That’s a very easy question for me, it’s quality time with my family. We go to Holland every year, walk the dogs in the forest, play board games in the evening and cycle through the National Park. To me that’s luxury; it’s any thing or experience that makes you ‘feel’.

LM: What luxurious item could you not live without?
SM: Not so much an item but a person, my hairdresser in Mayfair. Now my hair is rapidly disappearing it needs a lot of TLC.

LM: What makes Luxury Travel Advisors different to its competitors when it comes to delivering for its customers?
SM: We are still a small agency and one of the benefits is being able to be agile. If we want to send a client an extra gift or add something special, we just do it. Anyone can book a five-star resort in two minutes now on their smartphone, but to book a totally unique holiday based on your interests takes knowledge and ingenuity.

LM: Tell our Luxurious Magazine readers why they should book their next luxury travel experience through Luxury Travel Advisors?
SM: We treat every single one of our clients as VIPs whether you are booking two nights at a five-star hotel or a one month trip of a lifetime.

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