River Cruises: More than a Worthwhile Niche for Travel Agents
by克里·蒂斯(Kerry Tice)/
这个故事是TMR第一届旅行社河邮轮报告卡的一部分,该卡凸显了市场上顶级河邮轮公司的代理人。To view Travel Market Report’s River Cruise Report Card for Travel Agents, or to print it out for handy reference, click here.
If your client has never cruised before, a 4-day river cruise can be the ideal way to “sample” the cruise market. If your client is typically an ocean cruiser, why not consider giving them a more intimate option? If your client has always been drawn to land tours but wants something mobile, river cruising could be just the fit. Simple but true: these are the questions river cruise suppliers want travel agents to consider when they’re qualifying their clients for their next adventure. And according to industry experts, if you have a database of existing cruise or tour clients, you have river cruise sales potential.
River cruising is hardly new, but if you consider the constant evolution of the ships, product offerings and itineraries that make up this segment, the definition of new takes on a different meaning. That being said, the reasons why people choose to take a river cruise remain steadfast. Simply put, participation in river cruising is easy. It’s all-inclusive and hassle-free, allowing clients to truly enjoy the ride instead of worrying about packing and unpacking, vouchers or transfers from here to there. And waking up in a different location every morning doesn’t hurt either.
“River cruising has dramatically increased in popularity over the last several years,” according to Kristian Anderson, senior vice president of global sales for Uniworld Boutique River Cruises. “It marries the immersive experience of a land package with the mobility of the ocean cruise. If you’ve got passengers that have been on a land package or an ocean cruise, then you’ve got clients ready for a river cruise.”
Emerald Waterways and Scenic USA副总裁Joni Rein在大多数情况下同意。“虽然从海洋到河流的过渡是自然的,但实际上是最有可能购买河流巡游的土地度假胜地和旅游人群。确定哪个旅行社的客人最有可能购买的关键是冒险,活跃的,并且有愿意航行欧洲水域的人。”
对于Avalon Waterways董事总经理Terri Burke而言,这一切都归结为缩写的首字母缩写,恰好是Spell River。“’人们想参加河流巡游的第一构想是远景。我们所有的客舱都有露天阳台。”伯克说。“‘我’是为了沉浸。您在市中心,您只需要打开一次包装,而进入目的地的浸入确实可以在特殊的利益巡游中表现出来。“ V”是为了价值。人的人数较少,因此总体空间主张和全包旅行,娱乐,葡萄酒和啤酒的价值也有价值。”
伯克继续说:“获得认证出售河流巡游是'e'代表教育的原因。最后,“ r”是为了重复。海洋巡游占船上客人的84%,因此,如果您是旅行社,并且有一个非常强大的海洋巡洋舰清单,这是通过向他们提供河流巡游来使他们再次与您重复的好方法。”
Domestic river cruising (USA) also compares favorably to international river cruising, with its own unique benefits, pointed out Ted Sykes, president and COO of American Queen Steamboat Company. “There is no long haul air travel through multiple time zones, no foreign language or foreign currency to deal with and on a domestic river cruise, passengers are always within range of quality U.S. medical care.”
知道河流之旅体验是最适合的ed for your client comes down to education. Almost all of the river cruise suppliers offer training and certification programs to empower travel agents with the tools to sell this product.
塔克河巡航(Tauck River Cruising)的北美客户经理玛丽·穆林(Mary Murrin)说:“信息良好的旅行顾问是他/她的客户最有价值的资产。”塔克(Tauck)只是提供在线认证,网络研讨会销售培训和销售支持团队的众多供应商之一。更重要的是,一旦获得认证,大多数供应商将在其网站上将消费者推荐给完成计划并邀请旅行社合作伙伴参加特殊价格熟悉巡游的代理商。
旅行社返回使利基市场值得
The benefits of a river cruise aren’t reserved for just the client. Travel agents can receive robust commission earnings from this segment and guest satisfaction scores typically exceed that of ocean cruising. Rein suggests travel agents capitalize on this segment further by looking to group travelers such as active cyclists, food and wine enthusiasts or the incentive travel market. This has been made easier with the recent introduction of special-interest, discovery and adventure-themed river cruising itineraries that are also helping to dispel the myth that river cruising is reserved for the mature market. In fact, more and more of these suppliers are diversifying their experiences to identify with the interests of all demographics and age groups, and the response has been overwhelming.
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises最近揭幕了“ B”,这是其第一艘河流巡航船设计和创建,旨在满足21-45岁的千禧一代。根据Uniworld的安德森(Anderson)的说法,没有一个可以坐在船上的地方可以为您的手机充电。“这艘船的海岸游览旨在适应千禧一代的口味和喜好。例如,它们进入晚上的时间更长,并从一天晚些时候开始。”
Riviera River Cruises supports the travel agent channel through an agent portal that allows them to book and hold space online 24/7. What’s more, the supplier offers lifetime commissions to travel agents who have initiated a sale with them. “Even if the customer comes in direct the second time around, the agent that brought them to us originally will get the commission,” said Jana Tvedt, the company’s vice president, noting that only working with a different agent would invalidate that contract.
“我认为有些公司直接向客户进行积极营销是一种强大的趋势。我们希望旅行社社区知道他们是建立我们的业务的重要组成部分,我们在这里支持他们而不是将客户带走。”