NEWS — HOT STORIES 2
Cruise market ‘must grow or will struggle to fill ships’
Hollie-Rae Merrick
The cruise sector will be under increasing pressure to fill capacity unless consumers start considering a holiday at sea as on a par with regular land-based holidays. Royal Caribbean sales director Ben Bouldin issued the warning just days before taking trade partners to the shipyard in Germany where the line’s three new ships are being built. “Over the last few years the industry has struggled to grow the [UK] cruise market beyond 1.7 million people,” he said. “This has to change if every line
is to fulfil its aspirations – Royal Caribbean included – or else we’ll be really up against it.” Royal is preparing to launch
Quantum of the Seas in November, followed by sister ship Anthem of the Seas in spring 2015. The line claims the two new
vessels will begin to “change people’s perceptions of cruising” due to their technical and entertainment advances. But, taking a sideswipe at
Princess Cruises, which recently allowed one of its ships to be
featured in a reality TV show, Stuart Leven, Royal Caribbean UK director, cautioned: “Clearly the hardware alone won’t be enough to dispel the myths of cruising, which unfortunately continue to be reconfirmed by others, if we’re to really open up our products to the broader land-based marketplace – the 28.3 million outside of those who cruise regularly.” Leven added: “We’ll be
approaching things quite differently. We worked the social space hard during the recent Princess fly-on-the-wall documentary with the
message ‘Cruising doesn’t have to be this way!’, and this is really just the start.” Bouldin said: “Our two new ships
will provide holidays like no other and, as such, the strapline we’re using for Anthem is ‘This changes everything’. There is no aspect of our business we are not reviewing to improve for both our trade partners and our consumers.”
3
‘Extra brochures are a waste and inconvenience’
Juliet Dennis
Travel agencies claim the issue of brochure wastage has resurfaced, with reports of excessive deliveries of unordered brochures. Paul Gilmour, manager of Alresford Travel in Hampshire, is
receiving 200 brochures a week, mostly unwanted, and now has more than 450 unordered brochures to store. “It’s a horrendous waste. I’m convinced I am getting more
brochures this year than last,” he said. Donna Parkinson, owner of Avista Travel in Clitheroe, Lancashire, also complained of extra brochures. She said: “We might order 10 or 20 brochures but they come with six other packs we haven’t ordered. It’s a waste of paper and an inconvenience.” Gilmour now fears he will have to pay for brochures to be taken away; in November last year he paid £250 for a skip. The extras delivered include brochures for Hoseasons and Classic Collection Holidays. Classic Collection said Alresford Travel had been sent 60 summer-sun brochures between May 2013 and August this year that “proved surplus to requirements”. “We will look into adjusting his supply accordingly,” said a spokesman, who urged agents unhappy with
brochure deliveries to get in touch. Hoseasons managing director Simon Altham added: “We
work closely with brochure distribution company BP Travel Marketing Services to ensure agents only receive the brochures they want.” BP, which operates trade ordering service TradeGate, said it only distributes brochures “requested by agents or upon instruction from tour operators”. It urged agents to contact operators if they are receiving too many brochure copies. BP is looking into how to improve distribution efficiency and has three trials under way.
21 August 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 5
“Hardware alone won’t be
enough to dispel the myths of cruising”
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