Outdoor pools, golf and gaming: Are airport lounges the latest in travel luxury?

I’m sitting on a squishy, low-slung chair in Venice Marco Polo airport lounge. There’s a distant view of the canal city from the big glass windows and I’m drinking a sunset-coloured spritz with a plate of ‘cicchetti’ or traditional Venetian snacks.

I’m normally a budget traveller who would consider an airport lounge an unaffordable luxury. I know many people think like me, so I talked to Christopher Evans, CEO of Collinson International which owns and operates Priority Pass, about why he thinks it’s worth it for a stress-reducing start or end to a holiday. 

Travel and the travel industry have returned to pre-COVID conventions in many respects. But airlines still advise passengers to arrive at airports several hours early, as was recommended when travel restrictions are in place.

Evans says that the general tendency for travellers to get to airports with plenty of time to spare is making lounges more appealing. “They are islands of calm in the stressful airport environment,” he says.    

Recent research by the group’s marketing team, which surveyed 8,500 people across 11 countries, found that over a third of people find it difficult to fully switch off from everyday life while on their travels. 

The data also shows that the airport experience is critical to how well people can - or cannot - switch off, with 62 per cent of travellers saying pre-flight issues can initiate “fear of switching off” during the rest of their trip. 

However, 53 per cent of people said that visiting an airport lounge has improved how they’ve been able to switch off during previous travels. 

“Travel is a vehicle to get away but it has been a tremendously pressurised environment for people through COVID, post-COVID and cost of living crisis,” says Evans. 

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