New TTNG cruise sales director outlines growth ambitions

The Travel Network Group’s new cruise sales director John Wilson wants the sector to be a driver of new members to the consortium.

Wilson, who has previously held senior roles at Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Virgin Holidays and Tui, has been given the remit of expanding TTNG’s cruise proposition and accelerating the growth of its in-house operator, The Cruise Club.

Six weeks into his new position, Wilson said: “I would like cruise to be a part of the business that attracts new members to our organisation in the first place.

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“As we really bring into the light what we can do to support agents, for those who have possibly identified that cruise is going to be key for their business and are new into the travel arena, I want them to be coming and talking to The Travel Network Group because we’ve got such a good opportunity.”

Wilson added there was a need for TTNG to “stand out”, especially with growing levels of supply and demand  in the cruise industry.

He said: “There is a need for us to be able to say to our members, ‘We can help you sell cruise – we can give you the tools; we can give you access to the best commercial deals’.

“But, also, we can go a step further and we can give [members] expert advice and support on the end of the phone or an email and suggest what else they can offer the customer.”

Wilson said his focus was on members who are “selling some cruise but feel they could sell more” or those “who would like to sell cruise but are not sure where to start”.

 

He said: “A massive part of it is our own cruise tour operator, The Cruise Club, as a one-stop shop to fulfil what our members need and offer them alternatives to make sure we’re stepping very far away from the race to the bottom in terms of everything being about price.”

 

On competing on price, he said: “For me and with cruise, the opportunities to differentiate are so big that to try to compete just on price would just be daft and wouldn’t work for anyone, because, ultimately, we want our members to be profitable.

 

“We want them to be able to grow. I want to build stronger relationships with all the cruise lines we work with, and all of that comes around selling the best cruise holidays we can, but also at the right pricing.”

 

Other areas of opportunity he identified included river, expedition and pre and post-cruise stays to add value for members.

 

He said: “I want to be able to provide a strong service to our members in the river and exploration space because, personally, I see both continuing to grow and grow as they’re getting more coverage in mainstream media, which is driving interest.

 

“In the more traditional mainstream fly-cruise area, we’re all missing that the embark and disembark port city is another destination.

 

“Too often we get caught in ‘it’s just about the cruise’, but the rest of the holiday could be as important to a lot of customers.”

 

More support packages and services will be unveiled at TTNG’s annual conference this weekend, Wilson said, including elements in the training academy and marketing.

 

Looking ahead, he said: “Whatever we’ve achieved [in a year’s time], I will always want us to achieve more.

 

“That’s in my nature, so whatever we’ve done, there won’t be any sitting back.

 

“I will be happy if TTNG membership are overall selling more cruise and are using that as an enabler to grow their businesses, and if they’re seeing The Cruise Club as a key support to help them do that.”