Joel Katz, Managing Director CLIA Australasia
Start Planning for #ChooseCruise
Following the success of the #ChooseCruise hashtag in the past, this year we are announcing an exciting name change to October’s cruise month. This multi-faceted campaign unites the cruise community on a global scale and is designed to generate widespread awareness of cruise travel and to encourage consumers to choose and book a cruise.
#ChooseCruise promotes cruising as the preferred holiday choice and encourages both new and existing cruisers to book their dream cruise holiday via a CLIA-accredited travel agent.
We are inviting all CLIA travel agent members to get involved and we will give youthe tips and tools you need to help encourage your clients to plan and book a cruise, whether they are embarking on their first cruise or returning to a holidayat sea or on a river.
The #ChooseCruise campaign willinclude trade, consumer and media activities, a dedicated #ChooseCruisemicrosite, featuring cruise themed information and highlighting cruise experiences. Cruisers will be encouraged to book their cruise holidays by connecting with a CLIA cruise specialist travel agent through the Cruise Agent Search function on the CLIA website.
CLIA will also deliver a marketing toolkit withcustomisable media releases, newsletter articles, social media tiles and infographics, which you can use to develop your own promotional material targeting local media, your database of clients (and prospective clients) and your social media followers.
Through collaborations with Fairfax Media, News Limited, New Zealand Herald, Vacations & Travel Magazine and Cruise Passenger Magazine, October will be highlighted as an ideal time to #ChooseCruise and encourage bookings via a CLIA-accredited agent.
During the month of October, the most creative online and offline #ChooseCruise campaigns will be rewarded with several prize giveaways including cruises and Breakaway Travelclub vouchers.
This year, the campaignwill once again have weekly themes, which will be the focus across our social, PR and trade channels. Week one will focus on ocean cruising, week two on river cruising, week three on luxury cruising, and week four on expedition cruising.
We encourage you to make full use of the heightened interest and coverage of cruise and to share with us how you implement #ChooseCruise. You could host a customer event, create a special #ChooseCruise shop window, set up an email or social media campaign, or create your own cruise activity.
Stay tuned to our social media channels for more information on how you can get involved in#ChooseCruise over the coming weeks and for details of our #ChooseCruisecompetition.
To learn more, please join us for a #ChooseCruise Webinar on 15 & 28 August.
If you are not yet a CLIA Travel Agent, it’s not too late to join and be a part of #ChooseCruise!
