NEWS THE INTERVIEW


Richard Fain He says the values and the culture


of the company will “never change” – even when Fain, who will remain chair of the board of directors, steps down as chief executive on January 3. “What does not change is our


focus, our strategy and our pursuit to deliver the best vacations on the planet,” Liberty adds. Currently, Perfect Day in


CocoCay is Royal Caribbean’s sole private island available to passengers and more are in the pipeline. And Liberty vows to expand


Royal’s “destination footprint” as 13 ships on order come into service. “We think it’s a great opportunity


to enhance the experience,” he says. Fain adds: “Based on the past, and


on the investments that we’ve already made, you’re going to see a lot more outside the confines of the ship.” He goes on to say the company


is no longer looking at cruising as simply about the activities available on board. “The experience now is much


broader than that,” he says. Fain hints that investments will


travelweekly.co.uk


It is about getting the travel agent community back. We have a lot of growth ambitions for the UK – we think it’s an incredible market


be made in the areas of technology, sustainability and land-based projects. “Technology is probably


something you’ll see a lot of in the coming years. While we did some pausing during the pandemic, we’ve geared it back up and are moving quickly ahead.”


Online bookings The pair admit that online sales have surged ahead of those made via agents during Covid. Fain says people “on both sides of the pond” have got used to booking online But he urges agents to “close the


gap” between direct and trade sales, which he describes as a “big one”.


“It is about getting the travel agent


community back,” he says, adding that the trade had “always been key” to Royal’s success. Liberty agrees there has been “an


elevated level” of online bookings recently, but believes online travel agents have benefited from the change in consumer behaviour. “During the pandemic, a lot


of people who were not very comfortable with commerce online became very comfortable – that has driven it,” he explains, adding that the firm is still seeing “substantial” trade booking volumes. “We have a lot of growth


ambitions for the UK – we think 18 NOVEMBER 2021 11


Jason Liberty


it’s an incredible market,” he adds, confirming this country remains the company’s second-largest market. Echoing his comments on an


earnings call last month, Liberty confirms US and UK booking levels are now exceeding 2019 volumes. “We’re really excited to see what


has been happening over the past 30 to 60 days,” he says. Hearing the two executives speak,


it is clear that the succession of power has been well mapped out. And to emphasise their close relationship, Liberty can’t resist ending the call with a playful suggestion that his mentor might like to boost the coffers further with a family cruise of his own. “I’ll just be counting the 18


people,” he jokes. “Richard will have more time on his hands – so that will mean more revenue for us!”


Watch the interview with Richard Fain and Jason Liberty in full at: travelweekly.co.uk/media


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