Flight Centre Travel Group’s (FCTG) new cruise wholesale division is expected to be named CruiseHQ, travelBulletin understands.
The name had been a closely guarded secret until today, when it was included in the fine print in a FCTG investor presentation released this morning, as part of the Group’s annual results announcement.
TravelBulletin can confirm FCTG currently holds domain registrations for the name in a range of countries, including Australia (cruisehq.com.au), the United States (cruisehq.com), the United Kingdom (cruisehq.co.uk), Canada (cruisehq.ca) and New Zealand (cruisehq.co.nz), however none of these addresses have an active website.
The pending launch of CruiseHQ and the reintroduction of the Cruiseabout brand in Australia are key to FCTG’s plans to increase its scale, brand, and geographic diversity, according to the company’s annual report.
The presentation suggests an industry-wide B2B focus for CruiseHQ, which will offer unique cruise packaging both to FCTG brands and the wider Australian trade marketplace.
FCTG noted its total available margins in cruise are generally in line with pre-pandemic levels, and cited the launch of a “cruise specialty proof-of-concept store” within Flight Centre Canada.
The company is aiming to capitalise on forecasted strong growth in cruise, with Chief Executive Officer Leisure James Kavanagh this month promising a national footprint for Cruiseabout, in addition to a Gold Coast-based call centre.
