LETTER FROM THE EDITOR ..................................................................... 3 KEY FINDINGS ................................................................................ 4 INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 6 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 7 ADVISOR DEMOGRAPHICS 1: Advisors by Type ............................................................................ 10 2: Business Classification by Location .............................................................. 11 3: Travel Sales Experience ....................................................................... 12 4: Advisor Age ................................................................................ 13 5: Years in Business, Advisors’ Age ................................................................ 14 6: Agency Annual Gross Sales .................................................................... 15 7: Annual Gross Sales by Years in Business ......................................................... 16 AFFILIATIONS MATTER 8: Agency Affiliation by Type ..................................................................... 17 9: Trade Association Affiliation, U.S. Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 10: Trade Association Affiliation, U.S. Agencies....................................................... 21 ALL ABOUT THE FAMILY 11: Sell Multi-Generation Vacations? .............................................................. 22 12: Drivers for Selling Multi-Generation Vacations .................................................... 23 13: Travel Products Sold to Multi-Generation Clients .................................................. 26 14: Share of Multi-Generation Vacations, Share of Cruise .............................................. 27 15: Destinations Sold ........................................................................... 28 CLIENT DIFFERENTIATION 16: Primary Motivators for Multi-Generation Vacations ................................................ 29 17: Travel Party Size ........................................................................... 30 18: Prime Factors While Booking Multi-Gen Cruise Vacations............................................ 31 19: Important Factors in Selecting a Cruise Line ...................................................... 32 20: Multi-Gen Vacation Booking Payments .......................................................... 33 BOOKING ANALYSIS 21: Top Cruise Lines Booked by Agencies ........................................................... 34 22: Importance of Loyalty Programs in Cruise Bookings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 23: Challenges in Selling Multi-Generation Vacations .................................................. 36 24: Supplier Support ........................................................................... 37 PREFERRED TRAINING OPTIONS 25: Advisor Training, Preference by Format .......................................................... 38 26: Preferred Training Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Conclusion .................................................................................. 42 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION In the aftermath of being separated from close family and friends and unable to spend quality time with them for over two years, travelers are yearning for an opportunity to bond with their loved ones again. The family vacation segment hasn’t been actively pursued by many advisors in the past, as mentioned by many advisors. Suffice to say, the segment is now looking promising. While there are many travel products that are preferred by this segment, cruise thus far has accounted for a small share of annual sales, but with a big potential. Advisors’ superior product knowledge and training could help augment multi-generation cruise travel sales. After all, matching the right cruise product to the right family at the right price point is a skill, best honed with effective communication and training – product education and first-hand experience. The Travel Market Report’s Multi-Generation Cruise Travel Outlook 2022 highlights some of the key motivators for choosing this type of vacation and the challenges in selling it for the advisors. The Multi-Generation Cruise Vacation is perceived as an expensive product. The suppliers must efficiently communicate the value versus the price to the advisors, and in turn to the travelers. Besides education, cruise lines can also ensure their loyalty programs play a bigger factor in product selection and bookings. Within the report, readers will also find current trends and best practices in terms of training, favored affiliations and reasons for choosing them. The last two years have shown us that when faced with a global crisis, countries can come together for a single cause and attempt to defy the odds. As the pandemic begins to recede, they have worked together through mutual cooperation to ensure a safe re-opening of borders around the world , and we are seeing travel pick up and the tourism industry revive gradually. This could very well serve as a blueprint for the cruise industry that is slowly recovering. In fact, we are already witnessing travel agency organizations, the CDC, cruise lines, as well as local/state/federal governments collectively focus their efforts as a cruise industry to define what re-opening in North America can look like. We also see communication channels opening up and private companies moving out of their silos so that issues can be resolved on a timeline. 5 Members plan coordinated restart of tourism across Asia and the Pacific, UNWTO (September 2021)