Cruise agents urged not to focus on lowest price

Azamara Club Cruises boss, Larry Pimentel, has urged the trade not to focus on the lowest price, but to sell the "true value of a cruise holiday” and not to skirt away from selling luxury cruises because of their expense.

Speaking before more than 450 agents and 200 delegates at the Clia Conference in Southampton, Pimentel said: "When agents sell the wrong experience to a client, they get blamed so you shouldn't be rushing to sell the lowest price holiday.

 

"A cheap vacation can be an expensive mistake. It's human connections and sharing experiences and knowledge that win pocketbooks.”

 

He urged agents to sell destinations, and claimed that those not doing so were missing an opportunity.

 

"The reason we cruise is to see the land and the amazing history and culture available on land,” he said. "The land is the essence of the product so sell it.”