Tulloch, a travel columnist for the Nine Entertainment group, notes that the phrase ‘let them eat cake’ was historically propaganda used to portray Marie Antoinette as out of touch with her subjects. She applies the same critique to the current luxury travel sector, which she argues is enjoying a surge in spending on premium experiences even as many households struggle with rising costs.
The column centres on her recent trip to Italy, where she encountered the dessert buffet at Airelles Palladio Venice. Grolet, whose patisseries in Paris draw long queues, has created an elaborate chocolate shop and an Instagram presence featuring videos of chocolate being folded into vats. Tulloch writes of the scene as a symbol of the gulf between the travel industry’s top end and the broader economic reality.
“Let me eat cake, I thought,” she writes.
The opinion piece does not cite specific economic data or industry figures but frames the observation as a cultural commentary on how luxury travel is marketed and consumed. It appears in the Traveller sections of the Brisbane Times, WA Today, The Age, and Sydney Morning Herald.
The luxury travel segment has been robust globally, with high-end hotels, private jet charters, and exclusive experiences seeing strong demand. Critics, however, have increasingly pointed to the optics of such spending when many are cutting back on everyday expenses. Tulloch’s column aligns with that broader critique, questioning whether the industry is aware of the growing resentment.