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TravelMole Interview: Charlie Dunwoody, senior vice president, Cruise Holidays
In the cruise business, “it’s like the spigot has been turned on. We’re getting activity in almost everything we do,” says Charlie Dunwoody, senior vice president of Cruise Holidays. “The economy’s coming back. Retirees are seeing their money starting to grow again. There’s a relatively safe feeling about cruises,” he told TravelMole. Mr Dunwoody’s company, Cruise Holidays, is North America’s largest cruise travel franchise with agents specializing in cruise travel. Among the company’s programs is the Secret Agent Offers, which each month appears on the desktops of over 70,000 agents in the US and Canada with an interactive newsletter. The special e-mail newsletter promotes up to ten luxury resorts and reports on various special offers. While internet booking is headed up and cruise-goers are getting more intelligent, they will often look to agents for help in bookings, he said. Mr Dunwoody says particular hot areas for cruising these days include Alaska and Europe. “As far as product goes, Europe is doing much better than last year. The Caribbean is also getting a lot of competition,” he said. Despite that, however, Mr Dunwoody thinks discounted fares are declining dramatically. “We’re selling fares by at least 10% higher than last year. Part of that is due to the fact, however, that our stores are concentrating on selling middle to upper end cruises. We’re out of the habit of being bottom feeders, “he said. Longer vacations and spending more are also trends he has seen among cruise travelers. New ports in cities second-tier cities such as Norfolk, Jacksonville and Galveston are also adding to the appeal of cruising, he added. —Report by David Wilkening—-
David
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