NEWS CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Clia Conference: Agents will hear they can play a key part in making cruise the default holiday option. Harry Kemble previews Southampton event
Keynote speaker Rai Caluori
Princess chief tips cruise to make land stays ‘irrelevant’
Land-based holidays could soon become “irrelevant” – if travel agents can spread the word about the benefits of cruising, Princess Cruises’ executive vice-president has said.
Rai Caluori will be joined
by Harry Sommer, executive vice-president for international business development at Norwegian Cruise Line, on stage at the two-day Clia Conference in Southampton this week. Both keynote speakers hope to help agents attract business by extolling the benefits of cruising today compared with five years ago. Caluori said: “Once we have got
the word out there about cruising through agents it will almost render land-based options irrelevant. “There is nothing better if an
agent talks in these sorts of terms. I do not know how passengers can make any other choice.” Sommer said cruise innovation
over the “last five to seven years” meant comparison between land-based and cruise holidays had “been turned on its head”. Referring to new NCL ship
Norwegian Bliss, Sommer said: “I don’t know a resort in the world where you have 27 dining options, West End-style shows and four kids’ clubs. Put that together and we believe we have surpassed a typical resort vacation.” Sommer said it was cruise lines’
job to “educate” customers about how cruising is “better than a resort vacation”. “When we get that message
out there that cruising is good for customers aged six months to 99 years, then we start attacking [segments of the market] who are
not currently cruising,” he added. Sommer said he was not concerned about expanding fleet sizes, nor that access to ports of call would become too limited. “People ask me if I am worried
that there are 100 ships on order,” he said. “I wish there were twice as many on order. We believe the market can grow that fast. “I can’t speak on behalf of the
global industry, but I can speak on behalf of NCL. Carnival Corp has 100 ships. At NCL we are not worried that with our 16 ships we won’t have enough places to go.”
Lines ‘must target Generation X parents’
Cruise lines must target parents born between the mid-1960s and 1980s as they look to meet growing capacity across the industry. Dr Paul Redmond, a director of student experience and enhancement at the University of Liverpool, will tell 400 delegates today (May 24) about effective ways they can engage with a multi- generational customer base. He will explain why the baby-boomer generation is no longer the only age cohort that enjoys cruising. “Increasingly, a younger customer base is exerting more pressure on their parents,” he said. “Generation X has more resources and more money. They are the generation to really focus on.”
SCHEDULE Clia Conference 2018, Southampton
THURSDAY, MAY 24 10am Morning conference: speakers include Cindy D’Aoust, Clia president and chief executive; Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises chief executive; and Dr Paul Redmond 12.15pm Lunch 1.10pm Afternoon conference: speakers include Chris Austin, Seabourn senior vice-president for global sales and marketing; and Harry Sommer, executive vice president international business development at Norwegian Cruise Line 2.50pm Coffee break 3.05pm Closing sessions: speakers include Rai Caluori, Princess Cruises’ executive vice-president for guest experience and product development, and Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises senior vice-president 4.30pm Conference closes
FRIDAY, MAY 25 9am Registration at Ocean Cruise Terminal for Royal Princess tour 10.15am Closing session 11.50am Ship tour and lunch 3pm Conference ends
12
travelweekly.co.uk 24 May 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
