40 THE BIG TRAVEL TRADE EVENT 2022 Left:


Jennifer Callister from Royal Carribbean International networks with agents at the Big Travel Trade Event 2022


July/August 2022 Travel News Right:


Agustin Garcia of the Spanish Tourist Office, Maureen Ledwith of Holiday


World, Carlota Farriol of Portaventura World Parks & Resorts, Natalia Bel Llop of the Salou Tourist Board enjoyed their day of networking with agents


Left: Freddie Pinkerton and Owen Walker, Saudi Tourism Authority


Above: Stewart Stalker of Europcar engages with agents Sharon Thompson and Kasia Simpson of Thompson Travel


Left: Jason Kearns of Etihad Airways chats with agents Heather Fielding


and James Buchanan of Gallagher Travel


Above: Stena Line’s Ian Baillie shares with agents from Hays Travel


Above: Keeley Leck of Ratehawk networks with agents at the Big Travel Trade Event 2022


enjoyed a full two days of networking with local agents


WHAT DOES POST COVID RECOVERY LOOK LIKE FOR THE TRAVEL TRADE?


NCL - “We are recovering quite well, we have seen a high appetite in people travelling again. All of our ships are back in the water, we are getting into all of the that we want to get into. We are receiving a really high percentage of customer feedback, so satisfaction is there. The food onboard, the entertainment and the overall guest experience is absolutely fantastic, back to the way it was pre- covid. Still a lot of operational issues, in terms of entry requirements for countries and testing before getting onboard. But everyone is well versed in that now, and they know what to expect whenever they are booking. We are noticing that the apprehensi Spanish Tourist Office - “Delighted to be in Belfast and to be a part of the Northern Ireland Travel News Big Event, we’ve been working for so many years. We missed last year unfortunately but we’re back again. We’re delighted to see all the agents, the suppliers. Most importantly, we are here face to face to discuss matters with the travel industry. We’re extremely happy to be here.” - Agustin Garcia , Spanish Tourist Office. Jennifer Callister, Royal Caribbean - “We’re so excited with the bookings coming in right now, we’re seeing great demand out there. Very much in the late market, so people booking within three or four weeks of travel. We’re very confident in the Northern Ireland Market, so much so that we have put on a Belfast charter. 98 seater BA charter, that starts on the 3rd of July. We can already see a lot of late bookings coming in. So recovery is on the way, and back to business as normal.” Princess Cruises - “We are back to 2019 levels, cruising is just absolutely flying. Our brand new ship, Sky princess just added to the fleet, so all really positive.” Silverseas - “We are growing really fast, the bookings are coming in thick and fast. People are liking the idea of small ships because they enjoy the feeling of safety and security. Lots more space on board. So it’s been good, bookings are coming in and we are really pleased.” on of that is starting to fade away.” Stenaline - “Exceptionally busy and continues to be.” Tr10 - “With TR10 Travel, once covid recovery is in full swing and travellers are actually travelling. Once agents are seeing commission, we will be able to see more agencies focusing on online presence and being able to invest in online, especially after how challenging it’s been for agents” Eurocar- “it’s been good, really good. So much so we’ve been struggling with cars. The demand has been way outstripped for what we’ve got in terms of cars which has caused its own problems. If you’ve got too much demand, you must keep an eye on supply. So we are trying to get as many cars onto the fleet as possible. We’ve got plenty of bookings, we just need cars.” MSC - “Sales for 2022 are going through the roof.


Above: William Young and Jonathan Davies, Emerald Cruises and Scenic Cruises, connecting with Brendon Mallon, Oasis Travel


Above: Kelly Cookes of Advantage Travel Partnership catches up with Gold Medal’s Koral Lipton, and G Adventures’ Jen Watson


We have nineteen ships now, with two ships coming this year and two ships next year. So World Europa will be launched in November 2022 and Seascape will be launched in December 2022. We are not standing still, we’re still growing. All ships are back in service now.”


“Cruising’s Best Kept Secret” – Exclusive Interview with NCL’s Gary Anslow


DURING the Big Travel Trade Event, Northern Ireland Travel News caught up with Gary Anslow, Senior Director of Sales UK and Ireland at Norwegian Cruise Line to gain insight into what post-covid recovery looks like for NCL.


What does post-covid recovery look like for NCL?


“It looks really positive, we’ve got seventeen ships


sailing. We were the first major cruise line, under NCL corporation to bring all of our fleet back. Of course, it’s been challenging for the industry. It’s been challenging for suppliers, it’s been challenging for travel agents. But the post recovery period, I think is looking really positive. We’ve got nine ships in Europe, this year. The most we’ve ever had. Occupancy is looking really strong. We’re really pleased with where we are. The Northern Ireland market have always bought brilliantly into our Norwegian Epic programme out of Barcelona and that hasn’t changed. So, the last two years have been tough for everyone, suppliers and agents, but post-pandemic we are very optimistic about the future.”


How do you feel the travel industry has dealt with the difficult situation of the past two years?


“The travel industry, at the widest point, has done an amazing job. We are still experiencing a lot of the


challenges of covid. Just in terms of people coming to this conference over the last couple of days has been really difficult. It has been really challenging from a flight point of view. The industry has done an outstanding job, we are by nature a very resilient industry. We bounce back, whether it was ash cloud in 2011, or Thomas Cook in 2019 through to Covid over the last couple of years, it is an amazing industry. It bounces back, but that’s because we sell outstanding product and we make people’s dreams come true. If you work in an industry like that, you are always going to do well.”


This is the first post-pandemic Big Travel Trade Event, what benefits do you gain from attending the travel trade event?


“For NCL, we see Northern Ireland as a real growth opportunity. We changed our structure six months ago and we had the opportunity to bring Aaron Fletcher into the business and this is a step change for NCL. Aaron is based in Ireland and is looking after Ireland, so bringing someone into the market and someone close to our key trade partners is really important. I see massive growth opportunity for NCL out of Northern Ireland, we are cruising’s best kept secret. Aaron is already doing an outstanding job of changing that view of NCL. For us, there is massive opportunity and we look forward to coming to the Awards in October, and meeting trade partners again and talking about how


much we have developed over the last six months.”


What are you most excited about in NCL’s future?


“We’ve got a lot to be excited about, our new ship Norwegian Prima launches in August this year, then we have Norwegian Viva, the sister ship launching in July 2023. Then we have four further prima-class ships launching in the four years leading up to 2027. That will take our fleet up to to twenty-three but the prima- class ships are outstanding. Both Aaron and I have had the opportunity to visit the ship in it’s built stage. It’s going to be outstanding. We are looking forward to our agents and guests getting to experience what we have to offer. The new ships are what we are really looking forward to here at NCL.” Aaron Fletcher, Business Development Manager for Ireland at NCL added, “We are also looking forward to the addition of Norwegian Sun to the Canary Islands for the winter programme. There is a short lead in between now and November, when the first sailing goes. Going around some of the agents, they are excited about it. We are excited about it. It’s the first time we have visited that region in about five or six years, but of course the demand for it is high. The Canary Islands are popular with the whole island of Ireland, both north and south. So we are looking forward to seeing a big uptake on that addition in the coming months.”


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