Luxury clients are seeking the extraordinary, and they can afford it.

F. Scott Fitzgerald had it right: The rich are different, and they travel differently, too. When you’re dealing with clients who don’t see money as an object, it’s incumbent on you to provide them with the kinds of experiences that they had not dreamed of. From art consultants to hotel concierges, there’s an entire sector of the service industry dedicated to helping these travelers figure out how to spend their money.

Some people think the world is divided into continents and countries, but for today’s travel sellers, it divides more clearly between luxury travelers and everyone else. And obviously, these clients spend a lot more money. The extra bang on that buck is compelling a separate industry within the industry that is increasingly focused just on them. The International Luxury Travel Market, staged every December in Cannes, has been successful for years. And this spring, both New Zealand and China hosted luxury shows that operated separately from their other trade shows.

At this year’s Tourism Rendezvous New Zealand (TRENZ), Ross Webster, the president of Jetabout Vacations, who attended both TRENZ and the separate Luxury show, said that about half the buyers at the Luxury show were American. “Our [luxury] lodge business comprises about 10 percent to 15 percent of our New Zealand-bound clients, and about 60 to 70 percent of our New Zealand revenues,” Webster said of his business to New Zealand.

As are other travelers, high-end travelers are seeking experiences that can’t be considered normal, off-the-rack vacations. What makes them different is that they have the cash to achieve the exceptional.

Take Australia, for example. Whereas most travelers have to figure out how to negotiate the vast Outback, luxury travelers have access to air touring. Melbourne-based Big Blue Air Touring is just one of several companies that use small, well-equipped aircraft to offer intimate Australia experiences. By flying point to point, these travelers can go beyond the big attractions and take in small Outback bars or visit remote Aboriginal rock-art sites. The company has suggested itineraries but is willing to follow the whims of your clients. It also specializes in providing stays on working cattle stations. 

No ruins in the world surpass Cambodia’s Angkor Wat for majesty. The Hotel de la Paix, recently cited by Architectural Digest and a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, is the area’s only five-star boutique hotel. The property, which combines elements of Art Deco and Khmer in its architecture, offers an oasis from the crowded hotel scene that has sprung up in Siem Reap, the town outside the ruins. The rooms are spacious, with high ceilings, large seating areas and expansive bathrooms with tubs large enough for couples. Try to get your clients a room facing the pool and not one looking onto the street. The rooms, which are priced from about $300 per night, feature all the high-tech touches, from DVD players to iPods. The hotel features a restaurant, gym and highly rated spa. The three-night “Connect Experience” package includes market and temple tours and a dinner, and is priced at just under $1,000 for two. 

The world’s most empowered consumers need a shopping destination that suits their wildest dreams. Dubai, thanks to its world-class carrier Emirates, is where luxury shoppers go to spend. As are other great shopping destinations, Dubai is as strong in services as it is in shops. Its luxury hotels, spas, restaurants and attractions are a perfect complement to a shopping holiday.

In Dubai there’s a mall for every oil well in the United Arab Emirates, and they all sell duty-free goods. Dubai also has its share of traditional bazaars. Whereas the malls are known for their selections of such designers as Louis Vuitton, Donna Karan and others, the bazaars offer such customary Middle Eastern goods as antiques and carpets from the Gulf, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Every year, Dubai stages the Shopping Festival (this year through Aug. 31), which officials bill as the largest in the world.

Are your luxury clients looking for something more relaxing? Why not a trip south of the border, to Cabo San Lucas’ Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Holistic Retreat & Spa? This resort offers guests king-size canopy beds on the beach so they can drink in the best possible ocean views and breezes. After the Sun goes down, dinner by candlelight is arranged for guests under the stars. The use of one of the five beds on the beach – which includes the use of an iPod, two specialty drinks and a snack – costs $85. The dinner for two, with choices from two menus, is priced at $190.

Scottsdale's Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, a luxury boutique resort and spa, launched a program this spring called “Mi Casa, Mi Chef,” through which guests stay in a private mountainside home and receive a personalized epicurean experience, led by one of the resort’s chefs. Staying in one of six architecturally distinct residences, each offering such amenities as private pools and lavish outdoor patios with breathtaking views, those who purchase the “Mi Casa, Mi Chef” package work hand-in-hand with a chef to plan and execute their customized dining experience, which includes a chauffeured trip to the local farmer’s market.

Guests can work with the chef to prepare the feast or leave the chef to his or her own devices as they enjoy the home’s luxurious amenities. Spa treatments arranged in the privacy of the home add to the experience. The chef joins guests for their dinner, pairing wines to complement the meal. The two-night package can be extended. The program is available through Dec. 31 and starts at $8,000 for four couples.

Destination weddings were up about 77 percent in 2006, according to a survey conducted by the publishers of Bride’s, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. These days, 16 percent of all couples have their wedding away from home, and they spend an average of $25,806. About 45 percent of destination weddings – 368,000 of them – are held outside the continental U.S., and 40 percent of those take place in the Caribbean. The Reef Residences on Grace Bay in the Turks & Caicos Islands  is reaching out to this market with a wedding package. For couples booking a minimum of 10 suites for seven nights, the “Tie the Knot on the Beach” package provides a minister/justice of the peace (as well as documents, fees and officiating), a license,  reception for 20, cake, Champagne, a beach setting for the ceremony, two half-hour massages, a bouquet and boutonniere, a photographer, wedding coordinator, limousine transfers, an “Explore the Island” trip, one dinner on the beach for the couple and a dinner for the couple at Epicurean, the resort’s signature restaurant. One-bedroom oceanfront suites at the Reef Residences on Grace Bay are $400 per night through Dec. 21. Rates include breakfast daily, transfers, two half-hour massages and welcome cocktails.

Do you have any luxury golfers? The Dominican Republic’s Cap Cana sprawls along three and a half miles of sea, with a dramatic bluff of cliffs to its back. When it’s fully completed, the $1.5 billion resort will feature at least four luxury hotels (the first, which is rumored to be a Ritz-Carlton, will open this fall), five golf courses (the first, Punta Espada, opened last fall) and a 1,000-slip marina designed to cater to yachts of up to 150 feet. In its design, the marina subtly echoes Venice by using bridges and buildings that line the canals. Add to that the elegant boutiques and restaurants; world-class spas, pools and tennis courts; polo and horse-riding fields; and real estate ventures that include luxury condominiums, villas and mansions, and it’s clear that this area within the larger Punta Cana region is destined to be a major attraction for luxury travelers, especially those who love golf.

The Punta Espada golf course, the first of three Jack Nicklaus courses to open at the resort, is only the beginning. Punta Cana has seven golf courses, with three more in construction, and another three that will begin construction soon. By 2009 there will be 13 courses within 15 miles of one another in Cap Cana, Punta Cana and Bavaro.

For many, luxury is defined as adventure. Lindblad Expeditions  has chartered the sailing yacht Sea Cloud II for voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Lesser Antilles this coming winter. The masts of the Sea Cloud II are as tall as a 20-story building and hoist 30,000 square feet of sails. The Nov. 6 trans-Atlantic cruise departs from Seville, Spain, and concludes at St. John’s, Antigua, 20 days later. The guest speaker is the television news anchor and author Robert MacNeil. The cruise also visits Cadiz, Funchal and Madeira, and will spend 13 days crossing the Atlantic. Rates range from $11,190 to $19,290 per person double. The vessel will also operate seven-night Antigua roundtrips to Jost Van Dyke, St. Kitts, Dominica and Iles des Saintes in December and January.

Sometimes there’s a luxury in convenience. A new service by Austrian Airlines enables business-class passengers to board a private jet to virtually any airport in Europe in connection with their trans-Atlantic business-class flight to Vienna. With 48 hours’ minimum notice, travelers can book the service, called Austrian Business Jet and travel from (and to) Vienna Airport. In Vienna, Austrian Business Jet passengers are escorted by trained members of Austrian’s service team through dedicated passport and security checks. If desired, passengers are driven to their aircraft in an Austrian Business Jet limo. The Vienna Airport VIP Lounge and JETALLIANCE VIP lounge are both available to travelers.