TRAVEL advisors have an “enormous” role to play in the growth of the cruise industry both globally and locally, CLIA President & CEO Budd Darr (pictured) has told Travel Daily.
Speaking on the sidelines of Cruise360 Australasia, Darr admitted that some consumers prefer to go directly to the source sometimes, but that there was still plenty of opportunity for advisors to reap rewards.
“There is an enormous role to play for travel advisors and I think that will continue for a very long time,” Darr said.
“It is a fine line that’s walked between the cruise lines satisfying the need of being accessible to the consumer that wants to come to them directly, but yet making sure that they treat the travel agents fairly in running their businesses so that they are incentivised to do their part, because it takes a bit of both to get the ships full and at the correct price point.”
When asked about the opportunity for travel advisors to grow their cruise sales, Darr pointed to the habit of customers returning to cruise.
“There is enough demand out there, and in Australia, you see, there is more demand than there is product – that is a good sign for everyone,” he said.
“You can make a very good living largely selling cruises to the right customers – when I talk to travel advisors with high volumes, they have very high success rates with those that have been placed once or twice successfully – they keep wanting to come back and they give very broad mandates.”
Darr stressed that if an advisor took the time to be informed enough and prove themselves to the customer, they will develop a kind of trust that only comes from a face-to-face relationship, something he said was not possible when a consumer used an online platform to make a cruise booking. DF
