Environmental
comfort at night’ well-practiced aboard its vessels. “We design travel for people who define luxury not so much by the degree of elegance, but by the quality of the experience,” he says.
A thirst for adventure What then, according to Abercrombie’s founder, best explains the huge surge in popularity for these kinds of trips. Is it a hunger for authentic experiences, or perhaps the impact of climate awareness that is driving people to glimpse rare species in the Galápagos or the shimmering ice caps? “I don’t think it’s so much an environmental thing. I think people want to go and see things they could never have [previously] seen in their lifetime,” Kent says. “I tell everybody, if you’ve got a week before you die, you’ve got to do an African safari, you’ve got to see the pyramids in Egypt and do a Nile cruise, and you better go to Antarctica. Those are the three greatest sites you can see in the world. I’m not decrying other places, but those to me are places you have to see. “I think 9/11 was big,” he adds. “It was dreadful that that happened. But it showed that something bad could happen on your own doorstep. Until that moment, lots of Americans believed that everything was bad everywhere outside of America. I think that was a turning point for us.”
Since then, of course, Kent has had to contend with another seismic global event as Covid-19 spread across the globe, putting itineraries on hold as travel stalled and the race to create a vaccine ensued. More recently, as the vaccine rollout continues and borders reopen to international travellers, country by country, Kent and his team have been working to design new journeys that focus on space and privacy, with more outdoor adventures in wide-open spaces, as well as more customisation, including private air charters. “We have faced many challenges over the years, and at the height of each crisis it always seems as though there is no end. But in every instance, we have weathered the storm and emerged even stronger,” says Kent. “Our global network of over 55 local offices has never been more important. It was critical early in the crisis as borders were closing; we were able to get all of our guests home. It will be equally valuable as we navigate the complexities as travel restarts. With a host of exciting itineraries on the horizon, not least a trip through the northeast passage across the Russian Arctic in honour of the group’s first maiden voyage to Antarctica, Kent is buoyant about Abercrombie’s future. His parting message is to stress the importance of vaccination.
“As we come out of this pandemic, people are certainly going to be nervous. Unfortunately, all of us, including myself, have suffered. We’ve all had great setbacks, but there is a vaccine,” he says. “So, everybody should get vaccinated, then this becomes an endemic, and then we can move on with life.” For a man who has visited 148 countries, a jab – or two – in the arm is now the greatest ticket going. ●
World Cruise Industry Review /
www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com
WCR045_Delitek.indd 4 19/03/2021 11:25 29
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
