Pace of growth set to continue
Kelly Ranson, cruise reporter
Cruising proved to be a huge growth area for the travel industry during 2007 and the pace looks set to continue in 2008.
More than 1.35 million people decided a nautical holiday was for them in 2007 – an 11% growth on the previous year.
From a travel agent’s point of view, this is fantastic news; cruiselines continue to add capacity, consumers are becoming more aware of cruising and all of this equals great earning potential for agents.
More and more cruiselines are investing in agent training and, in turn, this means agencies become more savvy in this buoyant sector.
Agents are also creating more of an online presence. There are now bookable cruise websites, blogs and reviews all available to help customers make the decision.
The market is also starting to follow the booking trends of the traditional package holiday – customers are wanting their own unique trips so agents are now ‘dynamically packaging’ cruise bookings by adding hotel breaks and tours.
One thing to look out for is fuel supplements – over recent weeks a number of cruiselines have added the charge due to rising costs and more may follow this year.
There are a number of high-profile ship launches in the diary – look out for MSC Cruises’ Poesia, P&O Cruises’ Ventura and Royal Caribbean International’s Independence of the Seas, all in April.
Other ships hitting the market include Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s Balmoral in January; Eurodam, from Holland America Line, in June; Carnival’s Carnival Splendour in July; and Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Solstice in December.
Agents who are not selling cruise should certainly start – 2008 will see the sector excel.
Insider predictions
Bill Gibbons, director, Passenger Shipping Association
Predictions for 2008 show that the trend for growth continues, with anticipated numbers of cruisers reaching 1.55 million, a 14% rise on 2007.
The main driver for this growth in 2008 is the capacity that will be brought in by a range of new ships targeting the UK market, including P&O Cruises’ Ventura, the largest ship ever to be built specifically for the UK market, Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria and Balmoral from Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.
The cruise industry has been growing impressively for years and the predictions for 2007 show that this growth is continuing.
Membership of the Passenger Shipping Association is also growing fast, and now numbers 43 cruise brands, with many joining in 2007, particularly those in the niche/specialist sector – including African Safari Club, Azamara Cruises, Noble Caledonia, Oceania Cruises, Orient-Express, Swan Hellenic and Transocean Tours.
Andy Harmer, director of business development, Association of Cruise Experts
The year ahead will present further challenges and excitement for cruise agents, with a number of new ships being launched and more choice than ever before in the UK market.
More agents and customers will go online in 2008. The Association of Cruise Experts believes it is invaluable for agents to share their knowledge and has developed a section of its website that will give agents an opportunity to share their views and comment on each ship in the ACE fleet.
