Advantage takes cruise month promotion on the road to 100 agencies

Advantage Travel Partnership is taking its cruise expertise on the road to visit 100 members throughout September.

The consortium’s “most ambitious” cruise promotion month will provide practical sales support to members across the UK, including Northern Ireland.

‘The World, by Water’ campaign is designed to position cruising as the modern, exciting and diverse way to see the world. 

The messaging also highlights the appeal of waking up somewhere new every day, unpacking once, and travelling at a gentler pace. 

The bigger picture is about helping independently-owned travel businesses seize the opportunity and inspire existing cruise customers, win over those who have never considered cruising, and equip members with the knowledge, content and first-hand experience to turn interest into sales, according to Advantage.

The consortium claimed “unprecedented levels” of engagement from members across its various campaigns and promotions ahead of the cruise month activity, with 239 branches opting into the consumer campaign, a record of more than 20,000 entries submitted for a prize draw to win a 14-night Caribbean cruise with Ambassador Cruise Line and 85 members joining a campaign webinar where cruise partners shared product updates and prizes.

Other activity introduced to support cruise month includes: 

• A digital cruise edition of Navigate magazine, reaching around 60,000 customers
• An exclusive member fam trip on board Scenic Eclipse, co-hosted with Scenic, giving agents first-hand experience of small-ship luxury and expedition cruising 
• Exclusive content provided to Advantage’s Latitude cruise community connecting members with partners, expertise and commercial opportunities
• A dedicated intranet hub with downloadable marketing materials, supplier updates, training and a vruise month calendar 

Advantage director of cruise Jonny Peat said: “We are thrilled to be spearheading our most ambitious cruise month yet, with an evolved campaign for our dedicated Latitude Cruise Community that takes our cruise expertise on the road for the first time, engaging members face-to-face and inspiring customers with a fresh, experience-led view of holidays on the water. 

“We truly believe this campaign has everything members need to capture the opportunity in a changing cruise market: inspiring existing cruise customers while opening the category up to travellers who may not yet think cruising is for them. 

“The work we have put into cruise month this year showcases the scale of expertise, supplier access, marketing support and first-hand opportunities Advantage Travel Partnership offers independently owned travel businesses.”