The need to fill new ships by offering price-driven deals will reap dividends for the cruise industry when the recession ends, a panel of experts at World Travel Market predicted.
Speaking in a debate chaired by Travel Weekly cruise editor Jane Archer, cruiselines argued that first-timers attracted by discounts this year would become the regulars of the future.
Cruising has bucked the trend during the recession, with the number of UK cruisers set to reach 1.55 million this year. The panel argued that the extra 47,000 beds coming on to the cruise market in 2010 and 2011 was not a problem.
Yachts of Seabourn director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Andrew Magowan,
said the cruise firm would raise its 2010 capacity by 60%, but said this was not a concern, despite a need for discounting.
He said: “There will be some great opportunities for people to cruise on Seabourn. We are prepared to invest in product because 50% of our clients repeat within 18 months. I don’t buy the argument that if you discount in a difficult market you will never get it back.”
Norwegian Cruise Lines UK and Ireland general manager Stephen Park said consumers “had never had it so good”, and more people had been brought into the market.
“At some stage, the recession will finish and we will have more people coming into cruising,” he said.
MSC Cruises UK and Ireland chairman Peter Pate said cheap headline prices were not necessarily what the consumer paid, adding: “Most clients trade up. Our per diem rates in the UK are up.”
Royal Caribbean Cruise associate vice-president and general manager UK and Ireland, Jo Rzymowska, praised trade support for cruising, and said: “We don’t have a capacity problem. Seven million people go to Spain and only 3% of the overseas holiday market is cruising. The question people will ask is ‘do I go to Florida, do I climb the Himalayas or do I go on a cruise?’”