What’s In This Issue:
- From the Bridge– CLIA Establishes its first Travel Agent Advisory Board
- Cruising in the News - – The TNS 2004 Cruise Market Profile Study outlines a cruise vacation marketplace filled with potential.
- Maximizing Membership Benefits– CLIA Director of Training Tom Cogan answers members’ most commonly asked questions.
- Learn More to Earn More – More Cruise Selling Strategies from “The Idea Machine.”
- Member Spotlight – Allen Shapiro, ECC, The Cruise Authority, Marietta, Ga.
- We Thought You Should Know – In an election year, politics extends to the high seas.
July 2004
From The Bridge
Greetings!
One of the keys to success in any group effort is the contribution of the individuals. Twentieth century rabbi and social commentator Neil Kurshan was referring to the family unit when he said, “[A group] is not a computer program that runs on its own; it needs continual input from everyone.” Rabbi Kurshan’s words have meaning that go beyond our families and extend to our many goals at CLIA.Our efforts to promote cruising and the service, value and expertise provided by the dedicated travel professionals who sell the majority of cruise vacations realize their greatest value when our group has input from everyone.
Throughout 2004 we have explored ways to increase our members’ input into CLIA’s programs. Earlier this month, we announced another initiative with the same goal: our first Travel Agent Advisory Board, which will begin meetings this fall.
CLIA’s Travel Agent Advisory Board will consist of 25 CLIA-member travel agents representing all types of cruise retail businesses, from home-based sellers to brick-and-mortar locations to online retailers. Members of the Travel Agent Advisory Board will serve two-year terms and communicate with CLIA via scheduled conference calls or meetings at industry events to eliminate additional time and travel expenses.
CLIA’s Travel Agent Advisory board will solicit advice from CLIA cruise sellers, with the aim of providing our retailers with a greater level of input into CLIA’s programs. As a strong believer in the power of communication, I can’t think of a better way to learn than from the talented professionals at our member agencies.
To nominate a candidate for CLIA’s Travel Agent Advisory Board, simply e-mail the name and contact information of your candidate(s) by Aug. 1, 2004 to mhassett@cruiseassoc.com. Please use the phrase “AGENT ADVISORY BOARD NOMINATION” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Travel agent input is the critical factor in CLIA’s ability to provide you with the programs and services that support your cruise sales efforts. We look forward to working with CLIA’s Travel Agent Advisory Board to help shape CLIA’s future programs and services.
Bon Voyage!
Terry L. Dale
President & CEO
CLIA
CLIA’s recent release of its 2004 Market Profile Study, conducted in conjunction with the respected research firm TNS, provides cruise selling travel agents with the latest demographic information available about today’s cruise passengers, and a look into specific elements of contemporary cruise vacations that will resonate with the emerging cruise traveler.The survey revealed good news – as well as a great deal of opportunity – for the cruise-selling community. Among the chief findings was the cruise category’s continued growth in popularity among vacationers. Nearly 30 million Americans state a likelihood to cruise within the next three years, according to the survey. Moreover, cruising’s popularity growth has been particularly strong over the past five years. Twenty-three million vacationers – more than half of the estimated 41 million people who have ever taken a cruise vacation – have done so since 1999.
Based on 2,034 national online interviews conducted in March among adults 25 years or older with households incomes of $40,000 and above, the survey represents a balanced national sample derived from TNS’ panel of 1 million U.S. households.
Interest in cruising is not only strong among past guests, but it is also high among those who have yet to take a cruise. The TNS study found that 75% of past cruisers said they would “definitely” or “probably” cruise again within three years, while 55% of vacationers who have never cruised said they would definitely or probably cruise within three years. Consumers’ overall interest in cruising has also increased, as 51% of respondents say their interest in cruising has increased “somewhat” or “greatly” within the past two years – a sure sign of the tremendous opportunity for cruise-selling travel agents.
The 2004 Market Profile Study also found:
- Vacationers have reacted strongly to the cruise industry’s development of North American homeports. The study found interest in cruising increases dramatically with the availability of close-to-home embarkation ports as 67% of past cruisers and 72% of non-cruise vacationers said their interest in cruising increased “somewhat” or “greatly” with the addition of more North American embarkation ports.
- While cruisers consider the Internet an important tool for researching cruise vacation information, most (80%) still prefer to book with a travel agent. According to the study 50% of cruise vacationers said they use cruise-line Internet sites to research and plan their cruise, only 5% booked their cruises through these sites and 6% said they booked through local travel agency sites.
- Cruise vacationers appreciate the service provided by travel agents. An overwhelming 95% of respondents said they are satisfied with the level of service they receive from travel agents and give agents high marks for their knowledge and expertise.
Respondents also recognized travel agents as knowledgeable about cruise lines and their distinctions (76%), able to remove the hassles from travel planning (63%), and able to provide good advice (61%).
The study also delivered some tough news for cruise-selling agents. Perhaps reflecting the wide perception of low promotional Internet rates, 47% of past cruisers and 56% of non-cruise vacationers believe Web sites and online travel retailers can obtain the best deals on vacations. Still, most cruiser respondents (47%) said agents provide better service than Web sites and online travel retailers (15%).
The study also profiles today’s cruise guest, revealing:
- The average cruise vacationer is age 50, with an above-average annual household income ($99,000). Most (83%) are married and college-educated (69%).
- The average cruiser has taken 3.3 voyages.
- Destination is paramount in a vacation decision, followed by price.
- Most cruisers (78%) sailed with a spouse on an itinerary averaging 6.2 days on their last voyage, spending $1,650 per person for their cruise without airfare and $2,135 including airfare.
- Cruise vacationers are more likely to use travel agents than non-cruise vacationers, with four of five cruisers indicating the use of a travel agent to book their cruise while only two of five land vacationers queried used an agent to book their trips. Also, cruise vacationers use travel agents for non-cruise travel more than non-cruise vacationers, 58% to 41%.
- Despite the proliferation of electronic cruise distribution vehicles, most consumers make their initial contact with their travel agent through a local phone call (53%) or an in-person visit (40%). However, e-mail and the Internet are now as popular as calling a toll-free “800” number (23%).
- Cruise vacationers spend considerably more on cruises than non-cruise vacationers on their trips ($1,632 to $1,137 per person, per week).
- More travelers (35%) believe resort vacations are more expensive than cruises than believe the opposite (30%).
Thus while the TNS study outlines clear challenges for cruise-selling travel agents there are a considerable number of positives. Among the most important points revealed in the study is that today’s cruise vacationer already has a recognized level of comfort with using a travel agent. Cruise vacationers are most likely to use an agent when booking all vacation travel, even when their trip does not include a cruise. Also, most consumers who are interested in booking a cruise still prefer to make their initial agent contact through a phone call or visit.
The complete 2004 Market Profile study is available in the “CLIA Market Research” area of the Travel Agent Center of CLIA’s Web site at www.cruising.org.
Tom Cogan, CLIA’s Director of Training, says one of the most enjoyable aspects of his job is speaking with the dozens of travel agents he meets in classroom training sessions across North America. “I’m always impressed by the amount of dedication they display and the level of commitment they maintain,” said Cogan. “They know that training is the key to their success.”In fact, through his many conversations with cruise sellers, Tom has encountered a handful of misconceptions the agent community has with regards to CLIA – even among longtime CLIA-member agencies. Many of these misconceptions concern two of CLIA’s most important services, namely training and agent certification. Tom has compiled a list of the most frequently voiced misconceptions and addresses each in the following question-and-answer session:
Q: I did not complete CLIA Cruise Counsellor certification requirements in two years. If I re-enroll, do I have to start all over again?
TC: “No, you don’t. Even if you have not completed the requirements for Cruise Counsellor Certification within two years of enrolling in the program, you do not lose the credits you earned. In fact, you never lose credits for any training curriculum for which you have passed an exam. The only credits that may lapse are product-related (including ship inspections and actual cruise experiences), which are valid for three years prior to your certification enrollment or re-enrollment date.”
Q: Why aren’t ACC, MCC and ECC graduates exempt from the CLIA ID training requirement?
TC: “In order to qualify to renew their CLIA ID cards for 2005, all current cardholders must take part in training in 2004, or prior to renewing their cards, through participation in any of the following: local training seminars, training by request for groups, CLIA seminars at various conferences, online training programs or attendance at the CLIA Institute. Since CLIA's certification programs do not currently include a continuing education component, ACC, MCC and ECC graduates are not exempt from the ID Card renewal training requirement."
Q: Can I use one of the CLIA seminars that I completed this year towards my ACC for the I.D. card training requirement as well?
TC: “Yes, you absolutely can use any CLIA live or online seminar that you successfully completed in 2004 towards your ACC, MCC or ECC Certification to satisfy your training requirement for the 2005 CLIA I.D. Card.”
Dave Stockert’s Creative Cruise Strategies Pilot “The Idea Machine II”
As any cruise-selling travel agent can tell you, the industry can boast of several experienced and talented sales trainers. Then there is Holland America Line’s Dave Stockert, who, in a profession filled with over-achievers, has made a career of going beyond “traditional” methods to teach solid and effective cruise-selling skills to thousands of travel agents across the United States and Canada.
Let’s just say that Stockert, Holland America’s director of sales promotion, is bursting with imaginative, effective promotional ideas and has the background to prove it. His 1999 book on cruise-selling techniques, The Idea Machine, sold more than 7,000 copies and ultimately gained worldwide distribution.
Like any creative type, some of Stockert’s ideas tend to be…well, creative. The Idea Machine features the following recommendations: “Get a booth at the boat show and make a sign that reads, ‘See me for cruises you can afford’” and “Do a joint promotion with an undertaker - ‘Sea the World Before you Wave Goodbye.’” Stockert has also been known to conduct sales seminars wearing an Elephant headdress.
In between these examples of Stockert’s more esoteric training techniques are some very sound practices and the kind of creative thinking that characterizes successful cruise marketers.
For example, with bank branches eliminating their notary publics, Stockert advises cruise retailers to take the fairly simple steps to acquire notary certification as a way to bring more traffic into the office. He also tells agents to work closely with local car dealers to offer cruise vacations as incentives, and to team with a local fitness instructors to promote fitness cruises featuring sessions aboard ship. He also suggests and to donate cruise brochures to elementary schools, thereby providing pictures for the kids to cut out and cruise vacation idea materials for their parents.
In The Idea Machine II Stockert offers another 300 selling strategies and marketing tactics for travel professionals, with particular emphasis on the changing travel landscape. Stockert’s latest book features ideas for home-based agents on how to create group promotions, host cruise events, send effective direct mail, use advertising creatively and develop an efficient marketing plan.
“During my many years of conducting selling seminars and workshops for agents nationwide, I’m always learning what really works and what doesn’t,” said Stockert. “I started collecting the top selling tactics and created my book to share them with agents who want to be more successful. The Idea Machine II contains many more great selling strategies and updated marketing tactics, such as effectively using Web sites and e-mail to generate new business.”
Stockert’s newest ideas range from simple and inexpensive tactics to more ambitious strategies whose plausibility can be tied to an agency’s finances. For example, Stockert’s newest edition advises agents to:
- Create colorful “bon voyage” stickers with the agency’ logo and contact information; then put stickers on everything from the client’s documents to a bon voyage gift.
- Obtain photos of cruise clients; have Kinko’s reproduce the photos with magnetized backings and send these personalized magnets to the clients with a note thanking them for their business.
- Sponsor a local little league baseball or soccer team; the agency logo on the jerseys generates repeat advertising, community good will and the potential opportunity to book the players and their families on a group cruise at the end of the season.
The Idea Machine II is available at www.theideamachine.biz. The regular price is $24 plus $2 shipping, but the book is currently available for an introductory price of $20. The book is also available by mailing a check for $20 to Dave Stockert, The Idea Machine, P.O. Box 99323, Seattle, Wa. 98199.
Allan Shapiro, ECC, The Cruise Authority, Marietta, Ga.Throughout the year, CLIA’s E-Newsletter will speak with professionals at CLIA member agencies to discuss the challenges in their markets, their strategies for success, and the programs that have helped them sell cruises more effectively. Today’s guest agent is Alan Shapiro of The Cruise Authority of Marietta, Ga., who recently became CLIA’s first Elite Cruise Counsellor (ECC).
Q: How did your travel career begin?
AS: “I was an Army office in the 1980 when I took the inaugural cruise of the SS. Norway. I was so impressed with the people waiting on me hand and foot that I remember thinking, ‘This is the kind of vacation everyone should have.’ I decided that when I got out of the Army I was going to work on selling cruise vacations. I just always wanted to sell cruises. I’ve been selling them for 15 years now. I worked for a long while at a AAA agency here in Georgia, and also worked with two or three other agencies.”
Q:You said you specialized in cruise sales from the beginning. What kind of reaction did you receive in the travel community?
AS: “One story comes to mind. When I was an agent at AAA, I visited the state headquarters in Atlanta to speak with the association’s chief there. I told him I thought that if AAA would create an entire division that specialized in selling cruise vacations, we’d be very successful. He practically threw me out of his office. He told me, ‘You can’t make any money on cruises, and we don’t need to sell cruises anyway. We have membership fees and we sell airline tickets.’ Today, you can’t make any money selling airline tickets.”
Q: Besides being a cruise specialist you’re also a home-based agent. Has it been difficult to manage a home-based business?
AS: “Well, I started working from home very early in the game. I began doing this when folks said it was wrong, that it won’t work, but I thought to myself long ago that I wanted to work from home and I planned for it. I’m sitting here with a telephone, fax machine, a laser printer and two computers. I am completely hooked up with the Cruise Authority’s main office in Marietta. Meanwhile, I’m at home here 15 miles away in Monroe. It works. It works for me.”
Q: What made you pursue CLIA ECC designation?
LB: “Years ago I was saying that the only way that cruise retailers were going to be considered seriously as professionals was to establish professional certification. Today, it’s not that difficult to get that education. I did it all - travel schools, ship inspections, online courses. The only way to become a professional travel agent is to get the training.”
Q: How do you view competition from online cruise retailers?
LB: “The Internet is a good research tool, but even the Internet is limited. Cruise-line Web sites can give you a price, but have they told you what cabin category you’re getting? When customers tell me a price they found on the Internet, that’s the first thing I ask them.”
Q: What has made you successful as a cruise retailer?
LB: “Responsiveness. Ninety percent of the people who call me are calling me from work. People are extremely busy. You have to be able to provide them all of the services, efficiently.”
The November elections again thrust the world of politics into our everyday lives, and the battle for supremacy between the Democrats and GOP extends to the high seas: several political groups have already booked cruise ship charters and more are to follow.For example in March, the National Rifle Association (NRA) teamed up with Oliver North, a central figure in the 1980s Iran-Contra imbroglio, to host a “Freedom Cruise” aboard NCL’s Norwegian Star. The voyage, “for conservatives and Second Amendment enthusiasts” also featured former Attorney General Edwin Meese. In May, conservative commentator William F. Buckley hosted a cruise aboard Radisson’s Seven Seas Navigator, accompanied by former Secretary of Education William Bennett and former CIA director James Woolsey.
Meanwhile, left-leaning online publication Salon.com will host former Texas governor Ann Richards, commentator Sidney Blumenthal and former U.S. ambassador Joe Wilson during a Sept. 4 Caribbean cruise aboard HAL’s Zuiderdam. And The Nation, widely identified as the magazine of choice among liberals, will host a post-election eastern Caribbean cruise in December aboard HAL’s Oosterdam.
