From Heritage to a Multi Asset Luxury Travel Ecosystem | Gilda Perez-Alvarado

Описание: Orient Express is being relaunched as a luxury travel brand spanning hotels, trains, and yachts.

At 1TourismWorld 2026, Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer of Accor and CEO of Orient Express, joins this session hosted by Glenn Tyranski of 1BusinessWorld to explain how a 143-year-old brand is being brought back with a clear focus on heritage, quality, and meaningful travel experiences.

Founded in 1883 by Georges Nagelmackers, Orient Express began as a train connecting Paris to Constantinople. Its purpose was simple and ambitious: connect people, connect places, and inspire discovery. That purpose remains central today.

The relaunch includes three asset types: hotels, trains, and yachts. Accor acquired the brand partially in 2017 and fully in 2022, and formed a strategic partnership with LVMH in 2024 to support its next phase.

In Rome, Orient Express La Minerva opened in April 2025 as a 93-room hotel in a 17th-century palazzo restored to reflect its 19th-century character. In Italy, Orient Express La Dolce Vita operates restored 1960s and 1970s train carriages along historic and touristic rail lines, reaching destinations that are otherwise hard to access. In Venice, a 15th-century palazzo is being transformed into a 47-suite hotel after an eight-year restoration. Orient Express Corinthian, a 54-suite sailing yacht inspired by 1920s art deco design, is scheduled to launch in May 2026.

The brand is also restoring original 1929 Orient Express carriages discovered via satellite imagery near the Poland–Belarus border. These are now being restored in France, Italy, and Serbia, working with heritage artisans connected to the brand’s history.

Each property or vessel reflects a specific time period, but all share the same name and standards. Guests can experience them individually or combine them into longer journeys. A traveler might stay in Rome, take the train to Venice, continue by yacht through the Mediterranean, and later reconnect to future rail routes. Every asset can also be privatized or chartered.

Gilda stresses that the focus is on delivering excellence before expanding further. The brand must meet high expectations in service and experience. Growth must make sense within the network, not simply add isolated properties. The team works across hospitality, rail, maritime, and craftsmanship disciplines, coordinating closely with public and private partners.

Orient Express, she explains, is a promise. The responsibility is to respect its past while building it carefully for the future.

Chapters
00:00 Opening
00:16 Welcome and conference context
01:16 Introduction of Gilda Perez-Alvarado and the session theme
02:12 Orient Express origins in 1883 and founding purpose
04:04 Relaunch across hotels, trains, and yachts and Accor and LVMH partnership
06:24 Non-negotiable brand principles and heritage archives
08:29 Rome La Minerva and restoration philosophy
09:05 La Dolce Vita train and historic tracks
10:16 Venice hotel and Orient Express Corinthian yacht
11:16 1929 carriages discovered by satellite and restoration
12:33 Experiences of depth and the literary dimension
16:20 Multimodal journeys and curated on-board and off-board experiences
18:13 Privatization, chartering, and small-scale luxury design
20:00 Community and culturally curious travelers
22:33 Stewardship, execution focus, and avoiding orphan assets
25:30 Corinthian Mediterranean season and transatlantic voyage
28:11 Stakeholder orchestration and brand promise
31:21 Partnerships, activations, and modern customer acquisition
33:00 Audiences and expectations from locals to once-in-a-lifetime travelers
36:44 Balancing long-term legacy with short-term performance
39:29 Tailor-made journey curation
40:52 Closing

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