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Cruise agents ‘missing out’ by not selling excursions
Cruise agents are missing a trick by not selling excursions to their clients before they leave.
Tony Seaman, group sales and marketing director of Attraction World, claims cruise lines have ‘ripped off passengers for years’ with a captive audience for their shore excursions.
He said not only do agents stand to earn commission by selling excursions themselves but they also keep hold of and service their clients.
He said: "There’s a reticence to book but it’s a lost opportunity for agents. It’s a huge revenue. If someone is going on a cruise, they’re going to book an excursion.
"Agents are sometimes concerned about the coach breaking down and so forth – there’s a lot of scaremongering out there. But it just doesn’t happen and customers are fully indemnified with us anyway. On many occasions we’re using the same ground handlers as the cruise lines.
"We’re only talking about a small percentage but if the cruise companies do lose business because they’ve been ripping people off then fine. It’s made them start reviewing their prices."
AW Shore Excursions, part of Attraction World, pays agents 10-15% commission ‘depending on the size of the business’, claims Seaman.
Having launched in March this year, the firm has added a number of destinations to its 2015 portfolio, in the Caribbean, Canary Islands, Madeira and the Fjords.
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