CRUISING FOR BUSINESS
OPENING CABIN CURTAINS ON A BEHEMOTH cruise liner overlooking blue, halcyon Mediterranean waters, then heading up for a buffet breakfast in a dining room full of bronzed, leather-skinned Europeans with an average age of 70... This is not usually followed with putting on a suit, tie and brogues, and sitting in a conference discussing the latest developments in managed travel. In fact, I was ‘cruising for business’ – a
search term not recommended on a work computer, but one that’s growing increasingly popular in the meetings and events sector.
Mainly attributed to the leisure market, the cruise industry is worth £2.58 billion a year to the UK economy, according to Cruise Line International Association’s (CLIA) annual report published in June. The report shows demand for cruising is at an all-time high and has risen 68 per cent in the past ten years, with passenger numbers globally projected to hit a record 24 million by the end of 2016.
86 BBT JULY/AUGUST 2016
Holding a business event at sea presents unique challenges and opportunities This growth has been helped by busi-
nesses’ interest in corporate cruising. A 2014 report from CLIA found 73 per cent of meetings and events profession- als expected to use a cruise liner for a client’s incentive group over the following three years, while 53 per cent said they were likely to organise a conference on a ship over the same period. In fact, earlier this year, one of the industry’s leading operators, Celebrity Cruises, reported a 20 per cent rise for the sixth straight year in its group-business revenue. But why is there such growth in this
area of meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), what are the pit- falls and could it work for your business? Speak to those in the industry and it’s the fact you are holding an event at sea that creates the selling point for delegates, who can grow tired of the seeing the same hotel ballrooms year after year. Ken McLeod, corporate director at
Advantage Travel, helped plan the organ- isation’s annual conference this year,
which was held over four days on cruise ship MSC Fantasia. It departed Genoa and called at Barcelona, Palma and Ajaccio. The 400-plus delegates were among a total of 4,400 passengers. He believes one of the main advantages of holding an event at sea rather than in a more traditional setting is giving your delegates “the sense of occasion”. “I think it holds that ‘wow’ factor,” he
says. “It’s unique in the sense that very few people would have experienced a conference on board a ship. As ours was a travel conference it helped that everyone got to visit four different destinations in such a short space of time, which is again something different from a normal conference.” Global travel manager at US tech- nology giant Symantec, Nikki Rogan, believes the intimate nature of being on a ship together for a period of time can help sessions seem more engaging for delegates. “Cruise ships can provide a great atmosphere for networking and
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