Lowcosttravelgroup.com has launched a new cruise website that will account for half of the group’s revenue and 20% of its margins within 18 months, according to chief executive Paul Evans.
Cruise vertical Lowcostcruising.com is scheduled to launch in August and is expected it to generate £20 million in revenue in its first year, Travel Weekly columnist Evans said.
He made the predictions after revealing his negotiations with cruise operators have given the company access to 90% of the UK’s cruise stock.
He said: “We’re very serious about cruising, we’ve got all the infrastructure and we’ve got the trade relations.”
He added the online agency will also package up cruise product with its own featured accommodation and flights to create ready-made packages.
The new site will be headed up by former Air Miles commercial manager responsible for cruise Michiel Steneker and continues the company’s series of new launches, which has seen the birth of 25 sites since the start of the year.
Although it will initially be aimed at consumers, a trade-only section is expected to be added in future.
Lowcostvillarentals.com, which features European properties but will soon be extended to include the Caribbean, was the most recent site to be launched while lowcostholidayinsurance.com will go live as soon as it has won approval from the Financial Services Authority.
He said the company is also aiming to sell 1.5 million bed nights this year – a five-fold increase on last year.
Evans said: “It is an exciting time for the Lowcosttravelgroup. We’re getting a million individual visitors a month to our websites.”
He added there will be futher announcements about further developments over the next three months.