Royal Caribbean’s outgoing chief executive has urged agents to “fill the gap” after an increase in online sales over the course of the pandemic.
Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, Royal Caribbean Group’s Richard Fain said online direct sales had risen, but insisted the company was committed to supporting the recovery of the agent community which had been “key” to its past success.
Fain was speaking alongside his successor, current chief financial officer Jason Liberty, after announcing he would be stepping down as chief executive in January to become chair of the company’s board of directors.
Asked about the performance of the UK market, Fain confirmed it was the second largest source market for the group’s five brands, which include Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises.
But he added: “We are seeing more people booking online because that is what people got used to in the pandemic. What we’re not seeing is the growth that the travel advisors generated.”
He urged agents to “fill the gap” between trade and direct sales which he described as a “big one”.
“On both sides of the pond, it is about getting the travel agent community back,” he said. “They have both suffered so much.
“There was a tremendous response from the UK and Ireland before the pandemic. I think we see it building back up. We’re looking forward to that because that has always been key to our success. I think we need it again.”
He said there was a “wonderful opportunity” for agents to turn “untapped demand” into bookings.
Liberty said there had been “an elevated level” of online bookings but added that online travel agents had also benefited from the change in consumer behaviour.
“During the pandemic a lot of people who were not very comfortable with commerce online became very comfortable with commerce online – that has driven it,” he said, adding that the firm was still seeing “substantial” trade booking volumes.
“We have a lot of growth ambitions for the UK and we think that it’s an incredible market,” he added.
During the last quarterly earnings call, Liberty confirmed that bookings levels from the US and the UK were now exceeding 2019 levels.
“We’re really excited to see what has been happening over there for the past 30 to 60 days,” he said.
More: Royal Caribbean Group reports ‘demand has come surging back’