NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines held its first trade conference in 10 years this week. Harry Kemble joined 150 agents at The Belfry Hotel near Birmingham
From left: Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Pete Deer, Justin Stanton, Clare Ward, Thomas Rennesland and Mike Rodwell
Fred Olsen’s Stanton denies ads seek to boost direct-sell
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ marketing chief has sought to placate the trade over fears the brand’s national advertising campaigns encourage direct-sell.
Sales and marketing director Justin Stanton said there was “nothing” in his job description that stated he must increase direct bookings. Speaking during a question and
answer session at the operator’s conference in Sutton Coldfield this week, Stanton said: “What we see is that every time we advertise it drives business to travel agents. “People making bookings
through agents is not going to change anytime soon.” He said customers “like going
into a store” and “dealing with people face-to-face”. “We want to drive people into
travel agencies,” said Stanton. “The other thing I should say
is there is nothing in my remit or my job description that is about growing direct business. “We want to support the
customer in how they make the purchase and we want to make
“People need to know who we are, why we’re different and why we are worth paying for”
sure that we are as visible as possible, because if that drives people into your stores and your business, that is great – we want those bookings.”
He said in “years to come” he hoped Fred Olsen Cruise Lines would spend more on its marketing campaigns. “What we have found is that
when we invest in marketing, the business does better,” he said. “We are small, but we need to be
out in the market and shouting as much as the bigger guys are. “People need to know who we
are, why we are different and why we are worth paying for.”
‘No plans for Dublin or Belfast sailings’
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has promised new destinations for 2020-21 but ruled out reintroducing Dublin and Belfast as departure ports. Two years ago, the line reduced its roster of UK departure ports
to Dover, Liverpool, Newcastle, Rosyth and Southampton. Clare Ward, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines director of product and
customer service, said there was not “the depth of market” to bring back Dublin and Belfast. She said: “There are no plans for Dublin and Belfast to come back on.” Ward said new destinations would be added, most likely in
2020-21, but would not reveal which they would be. “We are right at the beginning of our planning for 2020-21,” she
said. “And although I can’t tell you what they will be, there definitely will be [new destinations].”
Fred Olsen targets ‘healthier, wealthier’ over-55s market
Fred Olsen Cruises Lines will target the over-55s market following analysis suggesting this age group is “healthier, wealthier and fitter than ever before”. According to the line’s
research, almost 17 million (85%) of over-55s in the UK have never been on a cruise. Speaking at Fred’s first trade
conference for 10 years, at The Belfry Hotel in Sutton Coldfield, commercial director Pete Deer said: “There will be 20 million over-55s in the UK by 2020. “They are healthier, wealthier and fitter than ever. Half say they are financially comfortable. “When [over-55s] have done a cruise, satisfaction levels are very high. We develop our cruises with these people at the forefront of our minds.” Sales and marketing director
Justin Stanton said Fred Olsen was not concerned by what bigger cruise lines were doing. “While others get bigger, we focus on our smaller ships; we’re comfortable doing that,” he said. More than 50% of the UK
population can reach a Fred Olsen departure port within 90 minutes, he added.
12
travelweekly.co.uk 3 May 2018
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