Advantage creates cruise advisory board to shape sector’s continued growth

Advantage Travel Partnership has launched a “first-of-its-kind” cruise advisory board, aimed at boosting collaboration between agents, cruise leaders and trade bodies to shape the sector’s trajectory over the next decade.

The board, unveiled at the consortium’s annual conference in Madrid, will meet twice a year, starting in July.

Each session will focus on a “clearly defined strategic theme,” featuring guest speakers to explore the key questions facing the industry’s future.

Founding members include senior representatives from Princess Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Riviera Travel, Imagine Cruising and Clia.

Director of cruise Jonny Peat described the invitation-only forum as an exclusive space for senior decision-makers to examine long-term trends.

“We have every confidence that this forum will become a genuine catalyst for meaningful, lasting change across every facet of the cruise ecosystem,” said Peat, noting the board would provide insights to inform members’ own strategic planning.

Addressing immediate market conditions, Peat reported that a recent hantavirus outbreak on MV Hondius has “had no effect” on sales.

While the consortium is “keeping an eye” on the situation, he noted customers are not proactively raising concerns.

The announcement of the advisory board comes as the cruise sector continues to “over-index” for the consortium, now accounting for about 15% of its total annual turnover.

Commercial director John Sullivan attributed this growth to the industry’s strong “value positioning,” which is increasingly appealing to budget-conscious consumers.

“Cruise has been brilliant for quite some time now; it is positioning itself in that value space and it is really reaping the benefits, with an increase in average selling price,” he said.

Peat added regional ex-UK departures from Liverpool and Southampton are performing “really well in particular,” alongside strong demand for European sailings from ports such as Barcelona and Rome.