Clia chief urges agents to capitalise on cruise ‘land of opportunity’

Clia global boss Charles ‘Bud’ Darr has urged travel agents to capitalise on a period of unprecedented opportunity for the cruise sector.

Globally, the sector carried 37.3 million passengers last year, and Darr predicted numbers “will be substantially above that in the coming year,” passing the 40 million mark “before you know it”.

Speaking to Travel Weekly, Darr said he had “made a real effort” to speak to the trade across different regions, all of whom had been “very welcoming”.

He expressed a desire to take “more time to engage” in future, adding: “I’ve really come to appreciate what an important role the travel trade plays in the cruise ecosystem and what a good future I think they will continue to have with our product.”

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Darr committed to engaging more with the UK travel trade, promising that while this was his first time at the annual Clia Conference in Southampton, it would not be his last.

Speaking to delegates on stage, he said: “Right now, it is the land of opportunity. We’ve got more impressive numbers than ever about repeat cruisers, with 90% of existing customers saying they want to cruise again, and maybe even more encouraging, over a third of guests worldwide are under the age of 40.

“There is a new developing market out there with three-quarters of people saying they are open to taking a cruise. We have never seen so much opportunity out there.”

He described the state of the industry as “excellent”, although he noted there are still “issues” to address, including regulation, destination management and sustainability.

Darr said the trade body needs to “listen to communities and take their concerns seriously” when locals feel the cruise industry is “disproportionately contributing too many people”.

He added: “Local leaders need to be willing to sit down and work with us and we are very motivated to do this and be good partners. If we don’t have that type of partner on the other end, there is not a lot we can do to change the situation in any given place.”

Darr said the future of the sector was “bright”, fuelled by “rising” demand from “a whole generation of very interested younger people”, combined with cruise lines making “massive capital investments” of $88 billion in an orderbook spanning 89 ships.

“We are committed to solid but sustainable growth and what we are providing to the travel trade is one of the most valuable and diverse product offerings they will have in their portfolio,” he said.

Darr added: “When the agents are cruise-ready, the customers become cruise-confident. I thank the travel trade, each and every one of you, whether you’ve never sold a cruise or you’ve sold 10,000 of them, because what you do builds confidence and together, we are ready for the next chapter of cruise.”