NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT


Clia Luxury Showcase 2018: Two-day cruise event features conference and luxury ship visits. Harry Kemble reports from Malaga


Lisa McAuley, Gold Medal and Travel 2


Robert Halfpenny, Aurora Expeditions


McAuley: Avoid clichés as they become meaningless


The luxury cruise market should avoid clichéd sales language as it risks becoming “meaningless”, delegates at the Clia Luxury Showcase heard.


Lisa McAuley, Gold Medal and


Travel 2’s managing director, said marketing departments and agents should resist using words such as ‘authentic’, ‘experiential’ and ‘immersive’. “It is highly unlikely someone is going to come into your shop and say, ‘I want an authentic, immersive experience where I can travel deeper’,” she told delegates in Malaga on Monday. “I would caution against using these types of words because the more we use them, the more they will become commonplace and meaningless. “Luxury travellers can see


through the hype, so a word of caution: be alluring but without being ostentatious.” McAuley, who was Silversea’s UK


boss for three years, said the use of such words had been driven by the rise of premium lines developing a luxury section on an otherwise


mainstream ship, or “a product within a product”. She added: “Mainstream lines


are constantly chipping away at the luxury market, so it becomes harder to define your product.” Lines that offer luxury service


with understated elegance were more likely to thrive in a world of austerity, she said. Turning her attention to


expedition cruising, McAuley said few agents sold the sector well. “People tend to dip in and out of


[selling it],” she added. “If you focus on this market segment and become an expert, you might not reap the benefits overnight, but you will absolutely reap the benefits in years to come. Make yourself an expert to reap the benefits later.”


Polar ships risk breaching landing rules


The boss of Aurora Expeditions said luxury cruise lines’ visits to the polar regions were increasing despite strict regulations. Any cruise line wanting to operate in the Arctic or Antarctica


must be members of regulatory bodies the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO). IAATO regulations state no more than 100 passengers from a ship can land at once in Antarctica, but Robert Halfpenny, Aurora Expeditions’ managing director, called for action as more larger ships sail to the region. Luxury expedition lines were carrying out two landings from 180-passenger ships, he said. “We have designed our [new ship Greg Mortimer] to only take 100 passengers in polar regions. [But] the average ship being built for the polar regions is 180-plus, so it going to be interesting to see how these associations deal with this in the coming years.”


Luxury sector to launch 25 ships in the next 10 years


The luxury cruise sector is “absolutely booming” as it prepares to launch about 25 ships over the next 10 years, according to Clia UK’s chairman. Days after Silversea revealed


plans to launch three more vessels from 2020, Tony Roberts, Princess Cruises’ vice- president for the UK and Europe, said even premium lines were offering luxury products to reach customers in that market. He added: “You can go to the best luxury resorts in the world but the experience on a ship is like nothing else. “More than 100 ships are


currently on order, of which around a quarter are luxury – it is an absolutely booming part of the sector.”


Tony Roberts, Clia and Princess Cruises


22 travelweekly.co.uk 18 October 2018


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