CHART 10
|
19
Another indication that the respondents are experienced at
selling expedition cruises – an impressive 62% of advisors
directly recommended and eventually sold this type of cruise
when their clients weren’t sure of their travel plans or of the
ship they wanted to book. Advisors were not just implement-
ers but helped clients make a decision by providing them
with relevant options. This also highlights the fact that the
tools that advisors require from suppliers to sell even more
expedition cruises are critical (see Chart 10).
It is interesting to note the client preference for alternatives
to big ship cruising – more evidence of the fact that trav-
elers are clearly thinking about how they can safely start
to travel or cruise again. Advisors have now become even
more important as consumers seek a safer way to travel.
If advisors are to be encouraged to promote a high value,
niche product, they will require a nudge of some sort.
Thankfully, expeditions are a more profitable piece of
business for the agency community because for the most
part it begins with seven nights or more as opposed to a
three-day ocean or river cruise. There are also more pre-
and post-cruise land tour opportunities for advisors to sell
with expedition cruises because of the kind of destinations
they go to. This adds to the overall advisor profitability.
The average expedition cruise spend that respondents sell
to their clients is $10,479 over an average of 10 nights,
which reinforces the fact that these are big-ticket trips.
CLIENT PREFERENCES AND MOTIVATION
EXPEDITION CRUISE BOOKING VS. CLIENT PREFERENCES
16%
16%
16%
42%
4%
7%
The primary purpose of the trip was deep interest in
expedition cruising
Client was familiar with expedition cruise, and sought
recommendations
Client looking for alternatives to big ship cruising
Client wanted new/different experiences for travel,
and we recommended expedition cruise
Client did not seek an expedition cruise, yet we
converted them
None of the above
It’s not for everyone, but I think by
focusing on size of ship and non-Antarctica
itineraries, the river cruise segment will
start looking (at this) after they have
exhausted river itineraries.
I did not sell much but had several
customers interested in for 2020
and 2021.