Clia: ‘There has never been a better time to sell cruise’

Clia UK & Ireland managing director Andy Harmer has urged agents to brush up on their cruise knowledge as he told them “there has never been a better time to sell cruise”.

Speaking at Advantage Travel Partnership’s annual cruise conference on board Virgin Voyage’s Valiant Lady, Harmer implored agents to look beyond the cruise element of a holiday booking to find opportunities for land-based sales.

He revealed data taken from a July survey which showed 87% of cruise passengers stay at their embarkation port before their voyage.

More: Consumer desire to cruise ‘exceeds 2019 levels’, Clia reports

Of those, 45% stay for one night, 23% stay for two night and 15% for three nights, while 3% said they stay for four nights or more.

Harmer said: “Those turnaround points are really important and you may as well be the one who is booking your cruise customer’s hotel  and you may as well be flying them in and out.

“Customers are going to be staying the night before anyway so you should be the one to benefit.”

Harmer also encouraged agents to stay on top of changes and developments in the industry and to become experts in their field.

“Schedule time each day or week to see what is new in the industry,” he said.

“Take some time out of your busy schedule to read the trade press or the Clia website or talk to any colleagues about the opportunities that are available.

“When you go on a cruise ship use social media, take pictures and share them. Attend industry events and ship visits and invest time in fam trips.

“Share the fact you are a cruise expert because your customers will respond to that.”

He added: “Cruising has never been more innovative, cruise brands have never been more focused on supporting agents, and there has never been as much investment in the industry so, for the first time, we can say there truly is a cruise for everyone.”