Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley and the editorial team took the top prize at the second annual Passenger Shipping Association cruise journalism awards.
They took the outstanding contribution to cruise journalism award at last night’s ceremony in London in recognition of Travel Weekly’s objective coverage of the cruise industry.
The accolade was for contribution to promotion of cruise holidays over a sustained period.
Huxley’s high quality journalism and contribution in areas such as lectures, panel appearances and conference sessions was recognised as part of the award.
Travel Weekly has just been confirmed as the trade media partner for the Ace Cruise Convention, which Huxley moderates, for the fourth year running.
Reporter Phil Davies was also shortlisted in the best trade feature category alongside Travel Weekly freelance cruise writer Jane Archer, while Julia Rogers, a freelance contributor to Travel Weekly’s sister magazine Aspire, was nominated for best first-time cruise feature.
The awards were presented as the PSA released its annual cruise review for 2012 which confirmed a reduced increase in the number of Britons taking an ocean cruise of 0.06% to just over 1.7 million.
The percentage of first time cruisers fell in the wake of the Costa Concordia disaster to 36% from 40% in 2011.
However, “canny” regular cruisers took advantage of the many special offers made available post-Concordia to book multiple sailings.
The report says that more than one in three passengers are now booking their cruises within three months of departure – a reversal of a decade-long trend towards earlier booking.
More than a third (36%) booked late last year against 41% in 2011.
“This accelerating trend is the obvious result of the tactical promotional pricing the cruise lines had to employ in the difficult trading year that 2012 turned out to be,” the study said.
“They have responded with a series of incentives including guarantees that early bookers will benefit from any late reductions but it is too early to say how effective these will be for 2013/14.”
Meanwhile the PSA attributed a boom in British river cruise passengers to 130,000 to new vessels and more inclusive pricing.
The PSA revealed the new Clia UK & Ireland logo at last night’s event.
The logo for agent training arm Ace will completely disappear on May 1. Then the new look will be officially launched at the annual cruise convention in Southampton on May 23-24.