Expedition specialists urge agents to target long-term sales

Expedition operators and specialists have urged agents to focus on maintaining “long-term” conversations to boost sales in the sector.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion hosted by Clia, an eight-strong panel of industry figures agreed agents needed to understand the long-term pipeline to “nurture” potential clients into buying their first expedition cruise.

Quark Expeditions’ national strategic key account manager for the UK and Ireland, Sarah Schlederer, said: “It is so important to remind agents they’re not necessarily going to market these trips today and get a booking next week.

“You are planting the seed, and they may book in six months or a year and a half’s time, but keep at it and [keep] promoting and investing in your team and in your research and communication with them.”

This was echoed by Mundy Cruising managing director Edwina Lonsdale who stressed expedition cruise was “not an impulse buy” and needed a different approach.

“It is a challenge as this is going to be two to four years in preparation because people only think they’re going to go once,” she said.

“With any luck, once you have got them, they’re going to keep on going but it’s going to take time, and you have to keep working away.”

ExplorEarth co-founder and chief executive Jos Dewing added this was “the most important point” for agents to understand about the sector, calling it “a huge challenge” for those wanting to start selling.

He added the specialist had been testing marketing for expedition cruising and found it was more beneficial to “nurture people at the top of the funnel” rather than try paid search advertising as it’s “a horrible place to market” and increasingly expensive.

Similarly, Swan Hellenic’s sales director for the UK and Ireland, Luke Clark, advised agents to “take the time” to speak about expedition with regular clients.

He said: “Those agents who slow down and go to a regular client they know already and say, ‘Let’s talk about expedition next week and I’ll get a load of information for you’, and take the time to make sure it’s right for the client, are the ones who are very good at converting it.”

Clark added sales for Swan Hellenic from the UK and Europe market were up 45% “buoyed by very strong sales in highlight sailings”, such as long cruises to South Georgia, Ross Sea, East Antarctic and the Northwest Passage.

Andrew Tait, AE Expeditions senior business development manager, stressed agents needed to look to their current clients, rather than find brand new leads to start these conversations.

He said: “We’re not asking high street agents to go out and market to build their database and ours.

“We’re asking them to use their existing database and they don’t have to spend £10,000 on a marketing campaign.”