There's good news for luxury travel connoisseurs - booming online trade is forcing upmarket holiday providers to become more competitive.

According to Luxury Travel magazine, agents must grow "more specialist and savvy" if they hope to rival cheaper web deals.

One way of doing this is diversifying to include more unusual destinations and travel experiences.

However, editor Alyson Cook insists the advantage in top-end tourism still lies with these established providers as consumer tastes undergo marked changes.

She explains: "Customers are increasingly more discerning and they are seeking out cultural and educational experiences which include interaction with indigenous people and access to specialist events. All of this a specialist agent can organise, because that sort of thing is very difficult to do over the internet as a member of the public."

According to recent research by the International Luxury Travel Market (ITLM), the global luxury travel industry now comprises an estimated 25 million annual arrivals, accounting for 25 per cent of international tourism spend.