Cunard boss hopes to see end to discounting

**Ally** · 03-14-2008, 10:40 AM

Quote:

The growing popularity of cruise could help end the heavy discounting that many in the industry feels blights the UK market.

Speaking to TTG from Miami last week before she was due to appear at the annual Cruise360 agent event, Cunard president Carol Marlow said increasing demand will help agents sell “differentiated product”.

This week the Passenger Shipping Association delivered an upbeat assessment of the UK market at Seatrade, also in Miami, forecasting 1.5 million UK cruise customers in 2008, following an 11% increase in 2007.

Marlow said with demand continuing to outstrip supply, agents could sell cruise at a premium rather than purely on price alone.

“There does not seem to be quite such an emphasis on discounting out here [in the US],” she said. “Yes, there are some good deals and different ways agents have of attracting guests.

“I hope the UK finds a way around this discounting by selling differentiated product and, as cruise becomes more popular in the UK, we will see it’s easier to do that.

“We are still seeing demand outstrip supply in the cruise market and the more that continues the more there will be the ability not to sell on price.”

The Ace Cruise Convention, which was first held in Dover in 2007 and will be held in Southampton this May, is the UK equivalent of the longer-established Cruise360 in the US.

Marlow said the key difference between the two events is that there are many more well-informed US agents than there are in the UK.

“There are excellent professionals that know cruise inside and out here. It’s more a case over here of keeping them up to date with the programmes and what the ships are doing,” she said.

Marlow added she was due to tell US agents about what an “exceptional” year Cunard was having, with the line’s newest ship, Queen Victoria, and oldest ship, the 40-year-old QE2, both attracting new customers to the brand.

Cunard boss hopes to see end to discounting - Travel Trade Gazette