Royal Caribbean strengthens trade ties
Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has doubled its UK and Ireland sales force and created a dedicated trade marketing team.
The company has split national accounts between two managers – Karen Doyle and Jillian Winn – and is dedicating six major account managers to focus solely on larger independent agents known as ‘Royal Celebrities’. Additionally, there will be five key account managers responsible for managing retail outlets, call centres and hypermarkets of the national accounts and independent ‘high growth potential’ agents.
Head of marketing Kate Cleaver will now have a team of three dedicated to travel trade marketing and promotions to support the sales force. Clare Bateman takes the new position of travel trade marketing and promotions manager.
A new initiative called ‘Easy To Do Business With’ aims to ensuring the company is the easiest cruise line to work with and the choice of both agents and consumers, a statement said.
A research programme has been created to monitor the travel trade’s needs and to benchmark Royal Caribbean’s progress on key initiatives. This includes a 12-strong travel advisory panel consisting of key trade partners.
Sales and marketing director Jo Rzymowska said: “Owing to the incredible growth that we have experienced and that we are forecasting in the years ahead, it is vital that we provide our trade partners with the right level of support. As a result we have not only doubled our resources for the trade but we have totally restructured the team in order to offer even more access and focus to all our trade partners.
“2006 is a huge year for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line with our new focus on Europe and the launch of Freedom, the most innovative and largest cruise ship in the world.
“With the new strengthening and restructure of the sales and marketing departments plus the launch of “ETDBW” we can not only look forward to further increasing the ties with our travel industry partners but also have greater ability in meeting the challenges that lie ahead in 2006 and beyond.”
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026