NEWS SPECIAL REPORT
Clia round-table: Leading cruise line bosses discuss the 2018 market and prospects for growth. Harry Kemble reports from Southampton
Booking patterns are getting earlier, say cruise line bosses. Inset: Andy Harmer, Clia UK & Ireland
‘UK cruise sector avoided 50%
Leading cruise figures have revealed the ocean sector sailed clear of the slump in holiday sales widely reported to have hit other travel sectors during the UK heatwave and World Cup.
Prices for last-minute flights
and land-based holidays were slashed as Britain enjoyed the joint hottest summer on record and the England football team progressed to the World Cup semi-finals. However, with 29 ships slated
for delivery in 2019 and cruise booking cycles getting earlier, the ocean cruise lines – and the agents that sell their product – bucked the trend and enjoyed bumper sales.
Strong bookings
Speaking at a Clia round-table discussion in London, five executives said their respective lines saw strong booking trends throughout the year, including during the school holidays.
Upturn in MSC Cruises’ UK business this year
Antonio Paradiso, MSC Cruises’ managing director for the UK and Ireland, said: “The heatwave did not affect us – it has been our best year ever. I am basically up 50% year on year, so it would be tough to say that I have been experiencing issues.” Marella Cruises managing
director Chris Hackney said the Tui-owned line had enjoyed another “very good year” and that there had been a trend for bookings being made earlier each year. Oceania Cruises’ Bernard Carter, managing director for the EMEA
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travelweekly.co.uk 20 September 2018
region, said he had anticipated slow sales in June and July as England progressed in the World Cup but that his fears did not materialise. Both Paradiso and Tony Roberts, Princess Cruises’ vice-president for the UK and Europe and current Clia chairman, highlighted how early bookings enabled the sector to avoid a downturn in sales. Roberts said: “There has been
a very strong trend to book cruise early over the last three years. “The result is there is not a lot of
stock available late. I think this is particularly true with the summer holiday and family markets.” Chris Edgington, marketing
director at P&O Cruises, said he believed “a sunny Saturday” encouraged people to book a cruise rather than stay at home. “I think the hot weather has got people going ‘Wow, I wonder what this would be like on a cruise?’,” he said.
High street trend
Asked about recent trends in distribution, the executives said that while cruise specialists were enjoying a return to the high street, any type of agent could sell a cruise in today’s market. Since January, independent
cruise specialist stores have opened in London, Manchester, Wales and the Suffolk town of Woodbridge. The Manchester store, in the Lowry Shopping Centre, was the first opened by online agent Cruise1st. Giles Hawke, Avalon Waterways’
chief executive, said there were “few barriers” restricting a non-cruise agent from selling a sailing. “I think selling cruise is a really
easy area for agents to get into, but they just have to put a bit of focus into training themselves,” he said. “It is much easier to put together
a cruise holiday than putting together a multi-centre holiday.”
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