Fiona Dalton sits down with Jessica Hall Upchurch, Vice Chair and Head of Global Stewardship at Virtuoso, and David Kolner, Executive Vice President Strategic Communications, to talk about fifteen years of groundwork and where it has all led. Global stewardship, Jessica Hall Upchurch says, is both a responsibility and an opportunity, though in her hands it sounds like an invitation. No shame, no blame. Start where you are. Travellers can look after the planet, the cultures they visit and the people who live there, and still have the trip of their lives. Fifteen years on, the numbers have caught up with the instinct. Virtuoso's 2026 Global Stewardship Impact Report draws on 767 partner companies across 95 countries alongside 316 advisors and members, and counts more than 11,000 stewardship actions already quietly under way, four in five of them backed by third party certification. Sixty-one per cent of advisors say clients will gladly spend more once they understand what a partner or destination is doing, which rather suggests purpose and profit have been travelling together for a while. Mostly, though, the episode drifts into the stories. A safari lodge, a herd of cattle and a designation called lion safe beef, where a few small protections meant the farmers and the lions no longer had to lose to one another. A falconry tradition in Mongolia, almost gone, now carried by more than 300 people because travellers kept arriving to watch. Ships gathering ocean data for universities while their guests are at dinner. Villages in Japan, well beyond Kyoto, quietly opening their doors on their own terms. Nothing here asks a traveller to give anything up. They simply come home with a little more. The episode closes with Ask the Expert, where Fiona puts the question to an advisor who does this with real clients every day. This time it is Yvonne Verstandig, founder of the Melbourne agency Y Travel, on the way all of this settles into an actual itinerary. Links: Virtuoso 2026 Global Stewardship Impact Report: Download hereVirtuoso Global Stewardship: Travel for GoodVirtuoso Travel Week: Karryon coverageY Travel: Connect hereLuxury Unpacked on Karryon: Welcome to season twoEpisode page with the full write-up: The Math and the Magic: Inside Virtuoso's Global Stewardship shift with Jessica Hall Upchurch and David Kolner Follow the show Luxury Unpacked is part of the Karryon Podcast Network, hosted by Fiona Dalton. New episodes land through Season 2. Follow or subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. If you enjoyed this episode, share it with an advisor who will enjoy having the data on their side. Discover more from the Karryon Podcast Network: Into the Hearts of Canada here The Karryon Check-In with Matt Leedham here Visit: karryon.com.au for more Luxury Unpacked is a Karryon Podcast Network original show, hosted by Fiona Dalton and executive produced by Matt Leedham. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the many Countries and Nations in which this show is made and travels, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present. Mentioned in this episode: Book with Virtuoso Book with Virtuoso
