A DAY WITH... FOREVER CRUISES
The three-year-old cruise agency is on the lookout for more agents to join its growing team in London. Harry Kemble reports
FROM LEFT:
Manish Suchde, David Tan
and Altamash ‘Sam’ Parkar
It is fair to say the origins of Forever Cruises’ parent company, Lee’s Travel, are humble. Hwee Yiow Lee started the agency in Kilburn from his food shop 47 years ago. Lee noticed that a lot of Asian students,
studying in London, were wanting to buy air tickets to fly home, and he seized the opportunity to serve this market.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
ANDREWLITTLE, SENIOR CRUISE CONSULTANT
THE BEST THING ABOUT MY JOB IS... I really enjoy finding holidays for myself so I find it easy to transfer
that to other people. The worst thing is, as a homeworker, I miss the interaction with other people and the office environment. MY FAVOURITE DESTINATION IS... probably Australia or Indonesia. I surf, so I especially like Bali and the east coast of Australia. MY TRAVEL BACKGROUND IS... I have been predominantly in cruise for the last eight years. I’ve worked in Sydney for Cruise1st and I’ve worked for Infinity Holidays which is the wholesale division for Flight Centre.
HARISH MESURIA, DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER
THE BEST THING ABOUT MY JOB IS... working with these guys. The
worst thing is seeing them go to all these industry events and not always being able to go myself. I HAVE WORKED HERE… since November. MY LAST TRIP WAS… to the launch of Norwegian Bliss. It was pretty cool because I am so new to cruise. It was such a big ship, so I was surprised. TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR JOB… My role is putting together the social media and basing it around advertising campaigns.
From behind his shop counter, Lee
successfully agreed net contracts with the likes of Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. Word quickly spread through the capital’s
growing Asian communities that cheap airline fares could be bought at Lee’s Emporium. This proactive approach has been a running theme throughout the agency’s existence.
‘Perfect marriage’ In 2015, Lee’s Travel set up Forever Cruises to cater for growing demand for cruises as add-ons to land stays. The new division was led by David Tan,
Lee’s Travel’s business development manager, and directors Manish Suchde and Altamash ‘Sam’ Parkar. Tan, the nephew of Lee’s Travel’s founder, said: “When we first started, Suchde and Parkar were knowledgeable on the cruise side of things and Lee’s Travel had a background in flights. It was a perfect marriage. “We could offer the whole experience.
You would go on your cruise, and then on your [land-based] holidays. There was hardly anybody out there doing this.” Forever Cruises turned over £6 million in
2016. In the same year the team scooped Clia’s Rising Star award. The company continued to grow last year, albeit at a slower rate, turning over £8.5 millon.
Change of approach The three-man Forever Cruises team realised that dwindling newspaper sales meant they needed to devise another advertising strategy. “Unless we had plans in place to go online
we would have died a death,” Tan said. A year ago, Forever Cruises switched its advertising entirely online. But that posed a
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travelweekly.co.uk 12 July 2018
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