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Imagine seeing a whale surface to the shore or polar bears fishing. The marine iguana, flightless cormorant,
and the Galapagos penguin are some of the species that can only be found on the Galapagos Islands.
Those who see these in person will hardly be able to restrict their adventures to just their journals. Sharing
their stories and adventures with friends, on blogs, and their stunning images on social media, will help
convince others they know to take the trip as well.
This is why word-of-mouth referrals work so well in the travel industry. It’s also why FAM trips and
product training will be the best tool that suppliers can arm advisors with to help in the worth of the
expedition industry.
In expedition cruises, social media promotion will also be an important marketing channel which must
not be ignored.
Expedition cruises could also look at becoming more inclusive. Advisors have shared that mobility- or
age-related restrictions prevent them and their clients from accessing the cruises.
While the cost of an expedition cruise is high, it is comparable to the spend on luxury vacations
15
and
advisors could look at their luxury vacation clients to sell expedition cruises to.
For those clients with the environment on their mind, the expedition cruise industry is working towards
protecting the fragile environment that it takes travellers to. Heavy fuels were banned in Antarctica in
2011, and now most new vessels can only burn “light” fuels. Hurtigruten is experimenting with battery
powered ships and its CEO, Daniel Skjeldam, is keen to pursue cleaner cruising, even banning heavy fuels
in the Arctic
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.
We hope this Outlook helps advisors and suppliers to collaborate in their efforts to grow the industry to
everyone’s benefit.
CONCLUSION
15 Travel Market Report’s Luxury Vacations Outlook, 2024
16 Sustainability Trends in Expedition Cruising