Boston, July 2020 – Scenic Group, parent company of Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Emerald Cruises, Scenic Eclipse, and Mayflower Cruises & Tours, conducted a survey to gauge the marketplace for river and small ship cruising from those who are in the best position to know – travel advisors. Responses from nearly 500 travel advisors across the USA show a strong desire from their clients for both types of cruising – both through use of future travel credits due to cancelled sailings and new bookings.
While cruises and tours in North America lead the way for the rest of 2020 according to the survey, the shift towards Northern Europe and the Arctic regions returns to equity for 2021. Flexibility with booking terms, refundable deposits, refunds for cancellations, and final payments due closer to departure are as important to the travel advisor’s clients as cruise destinations and lines that offer truly all-inclusive fares (where Scenic leads the industry with its fully all-inclusive structure). More than 60% of travel advisors say river cruises are accounting for between 25% and 50% of all their cruise bookings, and 75% of the advisors are seeing small ship cruise bookings (250 passengers or less) grow to upwards of 25% of their cruise business.
Equally encouraging is that advisors report 34% of their clients wish to convert cancelled or suspended vacation bookings to a small ship cruise. This choice is followed by independent travel at 30%. This bodes well for the Scenic Group as their river cruises support guests wishing to customize their cruise with some independent adventures with the use of GPS-based tours on its Tailormade ap, electric-assist and regular bicycles, and a very knowledgeable service staff on every ship.
Top of mind for all travelers is safety concerns around COVID-19. The top three responses in order (55% of the respondents) to those concerns are “needing to know the ship’s response protocols for any onboard outbreak”, “knowing the proactive safety measures the cruise line is taking to prevent outbreaks”, and “how the onboard experience will change including food service.” Along the same vein, their clients are looking for reassurance when it comes to flexibility in booking and when it will be safe to cruise again.
Supporting the marketing efforts of travel advisors is essential, especially during down markets. Scenic offers a full spread of those options for advisors and in looking for further input asked the advisors what types of marketing/communications were most effective at this time. Webinars, any and all types of communication assistance, and a steady flow of emails about company news and deals lead the way. Social media was dead last as a form of marketing communications for travel advisors.
Scenic is working closely with IG River Cruise, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), local and international Government Health agencies, to ensure developed protocols meet and exceed the latest regulatory requirements.
The Scenic Group is recognized as a leader in its field and has offices across the globe to host its companies, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Evergreen Cruises and Tours, Emerald Cruises and Mayflower Cruises and Tours. Scenic Group has earned a world-class reputation for creating and delivering the ultimate cruising and touring itineraries for travelers who seek wondrous experiences and exceptional 5-star service.
Additional information can be obtained via travel agents; or in the US: www.scenicusa.com; phone 844-788-7985; or email: [email protected].