Sell cruises on value – not price, agents urged
Agents have been urged to not get “fixated†on price when selling cruises for 2009 and beyond.
The message came from three cruise line bosses at the ABTA Travel Convention as they sought to press home the value cruise holidays offer.
Representatives from Carnival UK, Royal Caribbean International and Fred Olsen Cruise Lines addressed agents predicting that the UK cruise market would continue to grow at a rate of five per cent annually over the next five years from 1.5 million passengers this year to two million by 2012.
But agents were encouraged to move away from purely price-led cruise offers and concentrate on the value for money cruises can offer clients.
Fred Olsen marketing director Nigel Lingard said: “We want to get away from the price message as much as possible for next year and offer the value advantage to clients. We want to try to add value rather than knocking the price back.â€
And he added: “Don´t get fixated on lead-in prices.â€
Agents were also encouraged to demonstrate their knowledge of the different cruise lines and their ships with the support of cruise company training programmes, ship visits and marketing support.
Carnival UK chief commercial officer Peter Shanks highlighted a range of top tips for agents to help boost their cruise sales, and suggested those who are not members to join the Association of Cruise Experts which has seen the number of shops it represents double in size to 3,000 outlets in a year.
“Talk about value in cruising as people want more for less, particularly in the coming year, which is a good thing in a tough economic market,†he said.
Royal Caribbean general manager Jo Rzymowska drew an analogy between cruise companies and supermarkets which she said had lost the price message and moved to focus on value.
All three pointed out key attributes of cruising, including its inclusive nature, the range of on board facilities available, celebrity chef endorsements, lifestyle activities available and the array of destinations covered.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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