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Discounts hurting cruise market, operator warns
Royal Caribbean sales and marketing director Jo Rzymowska has called for an end to discounting as the dust begins to settle on the collapse of Cruise Control.
She said the industry was potentially devaluing a market where people do not look for cheap deals.
The remarks came as industry observers suggested that Cruise Control’s aggressive bid for volume – it claimed to have 16% of the cruise market – may have back-fired with heavy discounting taking its toll on Cruise Control’s bottom line.
Although regarded as prolific sellers, it is believed the retailer could simply no longer sustain such high levels of discounts. It was estimated to be between £8 million and £10 million in debt.
Rzymowska said cruising is a young sector that is in danger of being devalued.
“There is consumer demand and product development, complaint levels are virtually nil and it exceeds people’s expectations,” she told TravelMole. “It just doesn’t make sense to heavily discount.”
“Cruising is aimed at discerning travellers who are looking for value for money, not cheap deals. I believe if the price is too cheap it will actually put people off. And when you discount, there is the risk of selling the wrong cruise to the wrong people.
“We’re all to blame. It’s an issue the industry must put right.”
Royal Caribbean stressed all passengers currently on holiday and those due to travel would be unaffected by the collapse of Cruise Control.
“They will simply be dealing direct with us rather than Cruise Control,” said Rzymowska.
She declined to reveal how many Royal Caribbean bookings had been taken by the retailer or how much the company was likely to lose.
Because Royal Caribbean is not an ABTA member it cannot claim against the failure of an agent.
*Join the debate at TravelMole’s Travel industry Question Time on the cruise industry on December 6 at ABTA’s headquarters in London. For details, go to: http://www.travelmole.com/travel_industry_question_time/index.php?id=22
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