Cruise Control targets 150,000 bookings for 2005
Essex-based specialist Cruise Control claims it will take 150,000 bookings in 2005 and some 80,000 of them will be cruising for the first time.
The company, which was set up in 1998 and now claims to have around 15 per cent of the total market, has also predicted that with average bookings at £2,400, it will make a substantial profit in the calendar year.
Cruise Control said it had succeeded during a tough market because it had a dedicated sales team.
“We’re not a travel agent,” said managing director Paul Moore. “We’re a sales company and we’ve chosen to go into cruising.
“We’ve got a very loyal team and we never stop working. It sounds boring, but we just work all the time.”
Mr Moore said it was also important to invest in marketing and technology.
“We’re spending £850,000 on marketing in January alone and we’ve spent around £5 million on technology. Our systems are unbelievable.”
Mr Moore said he welcomed former easyJet chairman Stelios Haji-Iannou’s new cruise venture, easyCruise, which will offer holidays from £29 per night.
“It opens cruising to a new market and maybe next time those people will go on something like a Thomson ship,” said Mr Moore.
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