Heads up Travel Agents, if you aren’t actively looking for new-to-cruise customers booking local sailings, you could be missing out on repeat business & potentially big future sales.

That is, according to Helloworld Travel’s Steve Brady who believes there’s a cycle in cruise that starts with Aussies booking small local trips and ends with them returning for larger international cruises.

Speaking to attendees at the Frontliners Forum in Fiji over the weekend, the National Sales Manager for Wholesale said he expects the trend for more international cruising to grow, particularly as Australia’s cruise capacity flatlines.

karryon-girl-on-cruise-ship

Image: Allen Taylor/Unsplash

“Australian ports don’t currently have enough space to handle any more cruise ships, so a lot of growth is coming from long haul destinations.”

Steve Brady, Helloworld Travel Wholesale National Sales Manager

The more Aussies that return to the sector for further afield cruises, the better for Agents, Steve indicated, because they can package the international cruise sale with flights, accommodation, extensions, transfers and more.

karryon-cruise-ships-side-by-side

Image: Brandon Nelson/Unsplash

“There’s about 100 new cruise ships coming online in the next 10 years and there’s going to be about 230,000 berths into the market,” he said.

“Most of those ships are coming into the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Asia. That’s an opportunity for all of you [Agents], to take your homeport cruisers, get them to become repeat business by booking them on a South Pacific itinerary and then take them further to other parts of the world.”

 

Have first-time cruisers turned into repeat business for you?