Event attracts a record number of agents, with more than 350 attending and experiencing Royal Princess, Anthem of the Seas and Britannia. HOLLIE-RAE MERRICK reports from the three-day forum in Southampton
Millennials: Employ them, sell to them
Travel agents should use the skills of young people to attract more ‘millennials’ to book with them, delegates at the Selling Cruise Conference were told. Numerous speakers claimed that millennials – those born after 1980 – were more likely to book with travel agents, and those not targeting that demographic were encouraged to reassess their business model. Phil Nuttall, head of Clia UK &
Ireland’s agent advisory board and managing director of The Cruise Village, said: “We all need to encourage the youth in our
businesses. I cannot stress how important it is for us to engage the young people working in our businesses and to recognise their achievements. “I have young people in my business and I’m letting them fly. Don’t try finding and targeting the millennials until you have them working in your business. “Give them an inch and sometimes let them take a mile. These are the people who will take this industry forward for many years to come.” Richard Twynam, Azamara Club Cruises’ managing director,
I am letting the young people in my business fly; don’t try targeting millennials until you have them working in your business
described millennials as “the hottest property in cruise”. He said young travellers were
reshaping the industry because they “don’t want a one-size-fits-
all holiday”, so the number of specialist agencies was rising. Celebrity Cruises’ senior vice-
president of sales and trade support, Dondra Ritzenthaler, presented statistics showing that 18% of the world’s population uses a travel agent, compared with 28% of millennials. “You may think millennials
aren’t relevant to your business because that isn’t the age range you’re going after,” she said. “But the phenomenon that’s happening in all businesses, including travel, is that everyone is marketing to the millennials.”
Sales teams: Marketing materials ‘not just for agents’
Cruise line sales teams have been urged to utilise the resources and materials available through Clia UK & Ireland.
The association made a presentation to each of its member lines’ sales teams at a One Industry – One Voice session at the start of the conference.
Phil Nuttall
Nick Wilkinson, Norwegian Cruise Line’s business development director for the UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, who is also head of Clia’s
12 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 28 May 2015
trade-focused working group, said: “It’s important that you [sales teams] remember that Clia doesn’t just provide materials for and to assist travel agents. They are also for you. “We need you, as the sales teams on the road, to help grow this industry, so use everything available to you. “We need your input. Tell us how we can help.” Wilkinson urged delegates to log on to the
Cruiseexperts.org website to find out more.
CONFERENCE REPORT
Clia Selling Cruise Conference 2015
PHOTOS: PHIL GAMMON
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