ALL ABOUT YOU — READERS’ LIVES
THIS WEEK
Helen Tustin general manager
Regal Travel, Bridgend, Wales Agency aims to conquer cruise in Clia challenge
When Helen Tustin’s shop managers approached her with the idea of entering the Take the Clia Cruise Challenge, there was no question of not applying. “Cruise is about 10% of our business and we want to increase that,” says Helen.
Four-branch Regal Travel, a member of the Advantage Travel Partnership, has traditionally sold mainly bucket-and-spade holidays. After putting together a plan about why the agency wanted to increase its cruise sales and how it hoped to achieve this, Regal was chosen as one of six agencies nationwide to take the challenge, run by Clia UK & Ireland in partnership with Advantage, technology provider Zolv and Travel Weekly. This not only entitles agents to free membership this year of Clia, with access to
training tools and exclusive events, but also gave each agency two free registrations to the Selling Cruise Conference and River Cruise Conference, advice on social media, cruise sales, marketing and PR, access to Zolv’s Full Picture technology and a place at the Travel Weekly Agent Achievement Awards in July. “The branch managers are so pleased and so enthusiastic; they really feel we can
now increase business for the cruise lines,” says Helen. She hopes to increase cruise sales to at least 15% of Regal’s business, if not more. “Thirty per cent would be lovely!” she admits. To get the ball rolling, Helen is keen to ensure all the staff at Regal’s branches go
through Clia’s training programme on cruise products and attend ship visits. “We want to recommend the correct cruises to our existing customer base. We will
incentivise our staff to do Clia’s training,” says Helen. Having access to the Clia site is already making a difference, she adds, as staff
can now access all information about booking cruises in one place and easily find out which ships sail where in order to respond quicker to client queries or to suggest a cruise holiday. Up to now, the agency’s consultants have searched individual cruise lines’ sites for
Helen’s CV
●1998 to date: general manager, Regal Travel, with branches in Bridgend, Port Talbot, Maesteg and Porthcawl
●1981-98: started at Regal Travel, Bridgend, as a trainee, promoted to branch manager in 1984
information, which can be time- consuming and is potentially a minefield for agents not used to selling cruise, says Helen.
“One of the girls had an enquiry for cruises to Hawaii and she was able to find out quickly with a simple search on Clia’s site which line was doing it. “The trouble is that clients can
know much more than you; we need to be one step ahead – and this gives us the tools to do that.”
Would you like to be profiled on Readers’ Lives? Tell us why it should be you! Email:
juliet.dennis@
travelweekly.co.uk
36 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 28 May 2015
✪Recommend taster sailings: Encourage clients who have never cruised before to try a three or four- night cruise to see if they like it.
✪Get support from your consortium: Advantage gives us a lot of help to sell more cruises.
HELEN’S TIPS ON STARTING TO SELL CRUISE
✪Know your products: Join Clia UK & Ireland and get staff to do the online training to learn about all the cruise lines and what they offer.
✪Visit the ships: Nothing beats first-hand knowledge. Attending cruise events will also enable you to network with cruise lines’ key trade staff.
✪Suggest cruise: Introduce existing and new clients to the concept of a cruise, rather than offering only land-based trips.
READERS’ LIVES
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72