Carnival Cruise Line is to rejoin trade marketing body Tipto after a two year gap.
The cruise line will join in September, at the start of Tipto’s 23rd year of trading as it looks to engage with more UK agents as travel begins to recover from the impact of Covid-19.
Currently, Tipto has nine members but it is hoping to increase the number of suppliers to 12 from September. It is now in talks with several other companies about joining.
Carnival Cruise Line was previously a member for five years between 2014 and 2019 when Iain Baillie, vice president international sales, and Luke Smith, head of international sales, both spent time on the organisation’s leadership team.
As part of Tipto, the cruise line will continue to focus on its Travel Agents Rock campaign and Loyalty Rocks Club rewards programme at networking events, while the company’s Fun Ambassadors programme for the trade is also due to continue.
Carnival will also celebrate its 50th year next year. Its latest addition to the fleet, Mardi Gras (pictured), was delivered in December 2020, and the line hopes to restart US cruises from July on selected ships. Carnival Celebration is due to launch in November next year.
Smith said: “Carnival Cruise Line is delighted to be rejoining Tipto as we move out of an extremely challenging year for our travel agent partners, This will be an excellent way for us to engage with large numbers of travel agents and show some love and appreciation for the continued support they have shown us and also get them excited for our newest ships and initiatives.”
Tipto chairman Nick Hughes welcomed the return of Carnival to Tipto.
He said: “Having been been members previously, I’m pleased to see the Carnival team return and value the training and awareness that Tipto brings to its members. Access to agents and homeworkers with dedicated events will be key as the industry navigates its way out of the pandemic, and Carnival has plenty of new innovations to shout about to the agent community.”