LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ..................................................................... 3
KEY FINDINGS ................................................................................ 4
INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 6
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 7
ADVISOR DEMOGRAPHICS
1: Advisors By Type, Share (%) .................................................................... 8
2: Business Classification, Share (%) ................................................................ 9
3: Agency Annual Gross Sales ($), 2019............................................................. 10
4: Advisor’s Age, Share (%) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5: Years Of Travel Sales Experience, Share (%) ....................................................... 12
6: Advisors Age By Years In Business, Share (%) ..................................................... 13
7: Annual Gross Sales By Advisor’s Age, Years In Business & Business Type, Share (%) ...................... 14
AFFILIATIONS MATTER
8: Agency Affiliation By Type, Share (%) ............................................................ 15
9: Trade Association Affiliation, U.S. Agencies, Share (%) ............................................... 18
10: Trade Association Affiliation, Canadian Advisors, Share (%) .......................................... 19
11: Advisors Affiliation By Brand, Share (%) ......................................................... 20
IN THE LAP OF LUXURY
12: Sell Cruise Vacations, Share (%) ............................................................... 21
13: Cruise Segments Sold, Share (%) .............................................................. 22
14: Share Of Cruise Vacations In 2019 Annual Gross Bookings (%) ....................................... 23
15: Share Of Cruise Vacations By Segment (%) ...................................................... 23
16: Perception Of Luxury In Cruising, Share (%) ...................................................... 24
CLIENT DIFFERENTIATION
17: Key Motivators For Taking Luxury Cruise Vacations, Share (%)........................................ 25
18: Prime Influencers In Booking Luxury Cruise Vacations, Share (%) ..................................... 26
19: Factors In Luxury Cruise Sales Conversion, Share (%) .............................................. 27
20: Destinations Sold, Share (%) .................................................................. 28
BRAND PERCEPTION IN LUXURY CRUISE
21: Advisors’ Classification Of Luxury Cruise Lines, Share (%) ........................................... 29
22: Typical Challenges Faced In Recommending Luxury Cruise Vacations, Share (%) ......................... 30
23: Supplier Support To Enable Higher Sales Of Luxury Cruise Vacations, Share (%) .......................... 31
THE TRAINING NEEDS
24: Advisor Training, Preference By Format, Share (%) ................................................. 32
25: Preferred Training Programs, Share (%) .......................................................... 33
Conclusion .................................................................................. 35
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
The past couple of years have been particularly grim for the travel industry. Almost every country in
the world adopted measures, including restricted movement and border closures, in order to tackle the
global pandemic of COVID-19. The year 2022 brings renewed optimism and the industry is leaping back
towards normalcy.
The pent-up demand for travel has never been higher. These uncertain times have put life into perspective,
allowing us to double-check our priorities. This means that travelers are willing to splurge a little, and
tick off experiences and destinations from their bucket lists
1
. This substantiates the growth in the luxury
cruise segment. While we were conducting this survey, the war in Eastern Europe had just begun and its
impact on the travel industry had not yet been felt. The course of the war might affect bookings later this
year, especially considering the fact that Europe happens to be the favorite destination for luxury cruisers.
Largely, though, travel advisors report an uptick in the number of people opting to cruise in style. In this
outlook, insights have been drawn regarding the current landscape of the travel industry, specifically
around the luxury cruise segment. The expectations and hesitations of travelers, recommendations
pushed by advisors, the support they expect from cruise lines and ways to make more travelers opt for
luxury cruise lines form a part of this report.
Interestingly, one common gripe among advisors was that the call center services of cruise lines are
disorganized. Most times, these calls are handled by new staff who are not well conversant with the
product, making these calls unnecessarily long and frustrating. Others said their clients were not too
keen on taking up a luxury cruise vacation as they wanted more flexibility once they are onboard. As one
advisor commented, “My client does not want to dress up formally for each meal.”
You will find Travel Market Report’s Luxury Cruise Travel Outlook 2022 to be peppered with several such
nuances of luxury cruise travel, told from the perspective of travel advisors.
1
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/21/the-biggest-2022-travel-trend-go-big-spend-big-on-bucket-list-trips.html