23 July 2008

US cruise bookers want agent help

A report from the US says that Carnival Cruise Lines' shift away from direct sales to agents is in keeping with what newcomer senior vice president and sales and guest services Lynn Torrent has found, namely the Ã¢â¬ÅâœoverwhelmingÃ¢â¬~ number or bookers prefer to work with travel agents.

"Our customers tell us loud and clear they want to book through agents, and we are very happy to help them do that," Torrent told Travel Trade.

She said that Carnival's consumer marketing programs aim to "help them understand our product and drive them to travel agents.Ã¢â¬~ She added:

"I think agents like that because it drives business to them." "The better job we do with our brand, the better job they'll do."

She does not see any radical changes in the way cruise lines compensate agents going forward but noted that the industry does change with the market.

"The US market is the largest in sheer numbers." "In a nutshell, all our markets are growing." "We have additional capacity and we fill our ships."

Carnival is increasing its capacity in the Caribbean for 2009, said Torrent, in response to strong sales and the line is diversifying Caribbean home ports to appeal to its growing drive-up and family vacation markets.

A Report by David Wilkening