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Cruise chiefs call for unity to boost UK sales
Leading cruise lines are upping the ante in the battle for more UK passengers to regain the momentum.
Cruise companies are conscious that while the British cruise market now tops 1.7 million, growth has tailed off in recent years, leading to formerly ambitious targets to be scaled back.
They want to work together to entice more first-timers and boost the market to two million cruisers a year by 2020.
Speaking at this year’s CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) Selling Cruise Conference in Southampton, industry chiefs stressed it was more important than ever for brands to work together to get the cruise message across to consumers.
"Our strategy is to get more people cruising with us," said CLIA UK & Ireland chair and Celebrity Cruises UK & Ireland managing director Jo Rzymowska.
"We will all work closely together to get people in that funnel and once they are in, we are competitors," she said.
Three working groups have been set up under the auspices of CLIA to focus on public relations plus trade and consumer initiatives, with a remit to highlight the main advantages of cruises over land holidays, notably destinations, personal service and extraordinary experiences.
Carnival UK chief commercial officer Gerard Tempest said Carnival data showed there were nine million potential cruise customers in the UK, with a further nine million "considerers".
"Our industry delivers in spades, so why aren’t more people cruising?" he asked. "We can make it happen, but we will be better, faster and stronger if we do it together."
*This year’s conference has been the most successful yet, attracting 480 registered delegates and nearly 60 exhibitors, according to CLIA UK & Ireland director Andy Harmer. The event was oversubscribed with around 150 agents having to be turned away.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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