A B2B membership organisation dedicated to the expedition cruise sector has been launched today (April 17).
The Expedition Cruise Network (ECN) has been founded by luxury expedition cruise specialist Akvile Marozaite, who has taken the role of chief executive, and founder of Latin Routes and Polar Routes Martin Johnson, who has become the chairman.
The organisation said it aims to become a global authority on the sector by connecting expedition cruise operators and informing, education and promoting their products to a worldwide travel trade community with the intention of growing sales.
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Agent members will have access to a directory of contacts, destination information, webinars, events and fam trips, Marozaite said.
ECN has launched with 11 cruise line members: AE Expeditions, Albatros Expeditions, Australis, Hapag Lloyd Cruises, Hurtigruten, Intrepid, Latin Trails, Lindblad Expeditions, Ponant, Quark Expeditions and Swan Hellenic.
To celebrate the launch, ECN is giving 10 travel trade partners who sign up to the network by the end of May the opportunity to attend a London event in June which will include a rib ride on the Thames with an expedition leader followed by a drinks reception.
Marozaite said: “The first objective for the organisation is to create a great database of travel trade professionals who either already sell expedition cruising or have an interest to.
“Expedition cruising is often sold by a wide variety of travel trade professionals including travel agents, tour operators and travel designers, but we also want to appeal to those that support those sales, including product, marketing and managers too.
“Whether you know a little or a lot about expedition cruising, there will be something relevant for you to engage with.”
She added: “Sustainability will also play an ever-growing role and the sector must grow hand in hand with its commitment to meet UN targets to become zero emissions by 2050.
“As an organisation, we will support our expedition cruise and travel trade members by providing educational tools and keeping the sustainability topic at the front of all we do.”
Chairman of the ECN Johnson said: “While the expedition cruise sector has developed significantly over recent years, it is still hugely underrepresented.
“Consumers who have not yet been on an expedition cruise do not realise what an incredible way of travelling it is.
“As the sector matures, it’s important it has its own, authoritative industry voice to advocate on key topics including challenges to the sector and sustainability, as well as key trends and data.”
Discussing potential crossover with activity run by existing associations, he added: “By having its own dedicated organisation, we can ensure that expedition cruising is the number one topic on our agenda. Our expedition cruise members will be working collaboratively as part of our advisory panel, looking to sustainably grow the market for the benefit of all our members.
“The ECN will also better represent the huge breadth of expedition cruising options available, including true specialists and niche operators, some of which have ships as small as just 12 passengers, who would simply be overlooked elsewhere. We are confident the diversity of our expedition cruise members is not available anywhere else, and our travel trade members will have a fantastic opportunity to engage with them all.”
Johnson said: “The ECN will also engage with the travel trade in a different way to other associations that feature expedition cruise members. Sellers of expedition cruise are often much more varied including travel agents, tour operators, travel designers, specialists and more; the ECN will look to engage all travel trade professionals who are looking to improve their knowledge and/or sales of expedition cruising, and create a truly engaged database.
“We will also tailor our trade content so there will be something of value to all levels. For those that are new to expedition cruising, we will have fantastic resources to help you start selling it, and for those already familiar with the sector, there will be great ways to bring your knowledge and sales up to the next level.
“We are also looking to work with and engage different associations where there is mutual benefit to promote the sector and we have already had several productive discussions along this line.”