What’s In This Issue:
- From the Bridge – Port Everglades reaches 50 millionth cruiser, reflecting success of regional travel agencies.
- Cruising in the News – Port improvements will be needed at 300 global destinations says U.K. consultant …Pan-European port growth continues …CLIA TAAB member Lee Welling launches new company.
- Maximizing Membership Benefits – New Customer Relations Management (CRM) Made Easy course trains agents to effectively utilize client data.
- We Thought You Should Know –– Seafaring past remains at Cunard Line’s historic New York offices.
April 2005
From The Bridge
Greetings!
On a beautifully sunny morning earlier this month, I joined 100 distinguished guests at a ceremony at Port Everglades, Fla. The guests included Gavin MacLeod, star of the old “Love Boat” television series, Broward County Mayor Kristin D. Jacobs and Port Director Ken Krauter. We gathered at the Fort Lauderdale port that day to celebrate an impressive milestone: Port Everglades’ 50 millionth cruise passenger.Port Everglades hosted its first cruise-ship call way back in 1931. While that period precedes the modern cruise industry by nearly four decades, pleasure cruising, even at that time, was a distinct niche in the staple transatlantic passenger trade. Port Everglades’ cruise totals remained relatively small until the period between 1958, when the port hosted 15,000 cruise guests, and 1970, when 160,000 cruised to or from Port Everglades. Port Everglades first reached the one million cruise passenger mark in 1987, and this year, the port expects nearly 4 million guests to pass through its facility.
Today, Port Everglades is the world’s second-busiest port in terms of cruise traffic, following a record total of 4.1 million guests in 2004. Port Everglades now hosts the same number of guests in one weekend as it did over an entire season 45 years ago.
Along the way, the Fort Lauderdale community that surrounds the port has reaped the economic rewards of a vibrant cruise industry. As Mayor Jacobs pointed out during the ceremony, Port Everglades provides over 13,000 direct jobs and 26,000 total jobs that lead to $761 million in personal income and wages. In addition, Port Director Ken Krautner announced that Port Everglades is investing more than $80 million to renovate the port’s cruise passenger terminals and to accommodate even more guests.
CLIA is also doing its part to support travel agents and the cruise industry in the Fort Lauderdale region. This fall, CLIA will launch cruise3sixty – our first-ever global cruise event for travel agents, combining the best elements of a travel show with educational and professional development programming and a special focus on cruise fashion, cuisine and entertainment.
This unprecedented travel agent event will be held from September 30 to October 2 at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, and would not be possible without the strong partnership that exists between Port Everglades and the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. I know they will be great hosts to the cruise industry and CLIA.
The success of Port Everglades is another example of the cruise industry’s limitless potential, and is testament to the dedicated efforts of cruise-selling travel agents to get the word out about the world’s greatest vacation.
Port Everglades has benefited tremendously from a strong and committed cruise retail community. Simply put, strong relationships among travel agents, cruise lines and cruise-line homeports represent a win-win-win situation. I encourage you to visit www.broward.org/port to learn more about Port Everglades and its travel agent resources.
Bon Voyage!
Terry L. Dale
President & CEO
CLIA
Billions Needed to Fund Port Improvements for Larger VesselsNearly 300 ports across the globe will require upgraded facilities to accommodate large cruise ships, and the price tag could be as high as $3.5 billion, said Peter Wild, Managing Director of industry consulting firm G.P. Wild Ltd.
Speaking at the recent Seatrade Cruise Shipping conference in Miami Beach, Wild said the “staggering growth in mega-ship development” is driving the need for refurbishment at the ports. Wild said cruise ships have grown progressively larger over the years and will increase in size through the next decade. According to his survey, by 2014 more than one-half of the world’s cruise vacationers will sail aboard ships with a length of 950 feet. Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 is currently the longest cruise ship at 1,132 feet.
According to Wild, this means several established ports will be unable to serve the largest ships and could lose market share through the next decade. “Two berths of [980 feet] are almost certainly going to have to be required to remain competitive in 2014.”
Passenger Growth and Renovated Facilities at European Ports
Europe has consistently remained a favorite region among cruise vacationers. In fact, CLIA statistics show that Europe and the Mediterranean accounted for 23.3% of total cruise industry bed-days in 2005, second only to the Caribbean’s 40.4% (one bed day equals one person on one day of a cruise, so a couple on a seven-day cruise equals 14 bed-days).
While Europe has long been popular with North American cruise vacationers, 2005 is shaping up to be a particularly strong year for cruise travel in the region, in large part due to currency issues. In short, the high cost of the Euro versus the U.S. dollar means European cruise vacations represent a significant value when compared with land vacations in Europe, because cruise-ship guests pre-pay for transportation, meals, entertainment and accommodations beforehand in dollars, rather than out-of-pocket in higher-priced Euros.
Additionally, several Europeans ports will be prepared to greet the growing wave of North American vacationers with new and/or upgraded terminals and passenger facilities. Several European countries are already predicting record passenger totals as they upgrade cruise facilities. The countries include:
ItalySeveral ports are predicting increased cruise passenger totals, according to research from the Italian Trade Commission reportedly recently on the Cruise Community.com web site. Collectively, Italian ports expect a 5% increase in cruise calls and a 20% increase in passengers in 2005.
For example, Civitavecchia, Italy’s largest port and the gateway for excursions to Rome, expects to host 870 port calls carrying 1 million guests this year, after attracting 680 calls and 700,000 guests in 2004. Naples’ cruise guest totals climbed 26.5% last year with a record 773,223; total cruise calls were up 16% to 541, according to Naples’ Port Authority. This year, Naples is expected to host a total of 600 cruise calls.
Among Italy’s other ports, Genoa expects to host 250 cruise calls this year, up from 150 in 2004; Livorno (the port for excursions to Pisa and the Leaning Tower), 438 calls (up from 318 in 2004); Venice, 465 calls (up from 405); Savona, 200 (up from 191); and Bari, 134 calls (up from 121).
Several Italian ports are also working to improve maritime facilities. Ravenna is building a new and enlarged passenger terminal at Porto Corsini and new terminals are also planned for Bari, Cagliari, Golfo Aranci, Livorno, Milazzo, Olbia and Savona.
SpainA total of 3.5 million guests sailed to Spanish ports in 2004, a 4.1% increase over 2003 figures and a 75% leap over the 2 million who visited Spain by cruise ship in 2000, according to Puertos del Estado, the state-owned organization that coordinates 27 port authorities across Spain. The group predicts that 4 million cruise guests will visit Spain in 2007, while 4.3 million will visit annually by 2010.
Spain’s Mediterranean ports, led by Barcelona, accounted for 2.1 million guests and 1,870 cruise calls in 2004. Meanwhile on Spain’s Atlantic side, the leading ports are Cadiz and Seville, which together attracted 214 calls carrying 16,896 guests in 2004. Fast-growing ports in Spain’s northern Basque region include Bilbao and Vigo, while Puerto del Estado also targets Las Palmas and Tenerife, both ports in Spain’s Canary Islands, as growing cruise destinations.
NorwayOslo is predicting a record cruise season in 2005, with 145 cruise calls, an increase of 27% over 2004 totals, as well as 180,000 guests, up from 145,000 last year, according to Oslo Cruise Network (www.oslocruisenetwork.no).
Analysts: Wave Demand Flagging
Cruise vacation demand is leveling off and remaining inventory is “a bit more difficult to sell,” according to a recent monthly intelligence report from analyst R. Glen Reid of Bear Stearns.
Reid says that according to the firm’s agent contacts, about 75% to 85% of 2005 cruise capacity is booked and in some cases vacationers “are either booking farther out to obtain the stateroom, itinerary and/or ship they prefer, or are booking a different vacation altogether.”
The report also observes that “European demand has been the strongest on a year-over-year basis, suggesting we may see more itineraries in Europe [in] 2006 and beyond.” Reid attributes Europe’s strength to “the relatively low levels of supply in Europe and the weak U.S. dollar.”
Welling Launches Group Travel Firm
Longtime cruise retailer Lee Welling, a member of CLIA’s Travel Agent Advisory Board (TAAB), has left Liberty Travel to form a new company, The Group Department, LLC. Welling, the new company’s CEO, joined in the venture by his son Michael, who has worked for Lee for 10 years and has also worked aboard cruise ships. Michael is the new company’s president.
The Group Department will specialize in affinity group travel, and “[innovate] the way in which affinity group are sold and serviced for the cruise line,” according to Lee. Michael has spent 10 years marketing and servicing affinity groups, and also has international work experience, including positions aboard cruise ships.”
For more information contact The Group Department at 401 Columbus Ave., Valhalla, N.Y. 10595; phone 914-747-7547; fax 914-747-7548; e-mail lwelling@verizonesg.net and mwelling@verizonesg.net .
Third Annual Platinum Symposium Set for June
Platinum Luxury Society, a membership-based organization for travel agency owners and professionals dedicated to selling luxury market vacations, will host its third annual International Symposium in Seattle on June 3, 2005 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA., home to the Seattle Symphony.
Appropriately, this year’s theme is a “Symphony of Excellence.” The program will feature keynote speakers, workshops, a panel of experts and a networking gala luxury reception at Seattle’s famous Space Needle. The program includes presentations by Tracey Kelly, Vice President of Sales at Holland America Line; Shawn Tubman, President of Cruise Shoppes; Greg Land, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at Jurni Network and Bill Brown, President & CEO of Platinum Seminars. The event will also feature award presentations including the Luxury-Based Travel Agent of the Year.
For more information and reservations, log onto the Platinum Luxury Seminars web site at www.platinumseminars.com
Simplify Cruise Selling with “Customer Relations Management Made Easy”Empowered through instant access to travel information via the Internet, today’s cruise vacationers are more knowledgeable and demanding than ever. As a result, to ensure their success in today’s marketplace, cruise sellers increasingly must find new, more efficient ways to respond to and satisfy their clients’ ever-growing array of vacation desires and motivators.
Recognizing that cruise sellers need new strategies to interact with and deliver value to clients, CLIA has introduced “Customer Relations Management (CRM) Made Easy,” a new training course that to provides agents with effective tools to maximize client information. Besides helping agents to serve their clients more efficiently and effectively, the course will also help retailers increase their agency’s profitability.
Available both online and through CLIA’s Agency Training Program (ATP) classroom sessions, CRM Made Easy helps your agency create personal profiles for each of your clients – including everything from their travel history and budget to important dates in their lives. By establishing profiles for each of your customers, your agency can create personalized, one-to-one marketing communications. CRM Made Easy also trains agency personnel to provide clients with faster, more efficient service, and to close a higher percentage of cruise sales.
CRM Made Easy also teaches agents to create Database Management Systems (DBMS) to will gather, store and deliver client information on demand. A strong agency CRM system, supported by an effective DBMS, will:
- Organize all client and supplier information in one location
- Allow for faster response to client inquiries
- Channel new information to clients in a timely manner
- Reduce errors
- Increase client-marketing opportunities
- Reduce costs of sales
- Track your agency’s sales productivity
- Increase you agency’s closure rate
- Reinforce your agency’s credibility
Your agency is not maximizing its potential unless it is using effective CRM strategies,” said Tom Cogan, CLIA’s Director of Training . “CLIA’s new CRM Made Easy course provides complete information on methods and techniques agencies can use to implement their own CRM systems.”
CRM Made Easy also familiarizes users with CRM vocabulary and terms and provides strategies for identifying, installing and implementing a CRM system at your agency. Agents who complete CRM Made Easy will earn 15 credits toward CLIA Cruise Counsellor Certification.
For more information on CRM Made Easy, please visit the Travel Agent Center on CLIA’s web site at www.cruising.org.
Past Life Still Evident at Former Cunard BuildingThe former Cunard Line Passenger Ship building at 25 Broadway in New York City (located about three city blocks from CLIA’s offices) will shortly undergo a $52 million renovation to house a new National Sports Museum, with college football’s Heisman Trophy among its signature exhibits. The facility is expected to open in November of 2006.
The building is an ornate limestone structure built between 1917 and 1921 in Renaissance Revival style by Benjamin Wistar Morris. Cunard left these offices in the 1970s, and the building has since served as a post office.
The structure retains significant evidence of its past use as an international steamship ticket office. The Cunard Line name, along with signs indicating passenger entrances, is carved into the building’s façade. Inside, creatures of the sea from seahorses to starfish, plus the vessels of legendary seafarers, are celebrated in paintings, murals, and medallions.
According to www.nyc-architecture.com, “The grand interior of the Great Hall shows how the popular Beaux Art style was adapted to a new use. The architect collaborated with muralist Ezra Winter to produce a decorative program focused on shipping themes, set within a huge vaulted space that recalls Roman bath buildings.”
