Cruise is becoming an increasingly important product segment for TravelManagers, with year-to-date cruise sales across the network already amounting to more than one-and-a-half times the same period last year.
Chief Executive Officer of TravelManagers’ parent company House of Travel Joe Araullo told travelBulletin at the brand’s annual conference last week the growth of the network’s cruise sector is “phenomenal”.
TravelManagers is actively encouraging its home-based travel advisors to become a member of Cruise Lines International Association, and to undertake their CLIA Masters accreditation.
Groups are also a key focus for TravelManagers, with the network’s agents encouraged to take advantage of generous cruise incentives to boost their margins, such as free cabins, additional onboard amenities, and reduced discounts.
Cruise lines also continue to actively partner with TravelManagers, as the brand builds its own in-house product by creating packages and combining cruise with air and land content, such as in two exclusive package departures with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and Globus announced at the conference.
One of the packages is a “European odyssey”, combining a river cruise aboard Avalon Waterways’ new Douro ship in Portugal with a NCL Norwegian Viva Mediterranean itinerary cruising out of Libson.
The other is a NCL Norwegian Bliss Alaska cruise combined with a Globus tour of Western Canada, including a Rocky Mountaineer rail journey.
Araullo and TravelManagers Chief Operating Officer Grant Campbell said the ability to access nett cruise rates is also key to long-term growth, with the ease of booking for members, the growth of multigenerational cruise bookings, the all-inclusive nature of many fares, and the typically high value of cruise reservations.
