While the local Kiwi cruise market has taken a battering thanks to increased costs and some tricky environmental policies, the silver lining says House of Travel head of cruise Jeff Leckey is the fly-cruise market.
“You’ve got the likes of Norwegian’s deployment from Fiji, Tahiti, and Honolulu, so that’s been fantastic for the fly-cruise market over the winter season. We’ve never really had anyone do that before so yes, we haven’t had the P&Os out of Auckland but we have had NCL Pacific, and we’ve also had four Carnival ships out of Australia and fly-cruise, particularly out of Queensland, that’s been really popular.” And because those cruises are typically much longer, and packages with flights, accommodation and, particularly in Queensland with sightseeing options, Leckey says it can be a real revenue earner for Kiwi agents.
. . . Popular
At the same time Leckey says the Kimberley region is really growing as a hot destination for New Zealanders. “There’s a lot more opportunities there, it’s a close to home expedition destination, it’s really opened up and demand is strong”. Leckey also highlights the growing number of ships heading to Tahiti. “Cruising in Tahiti’s probably the best way to do it, isn’t it? So that’s exciting; huge opportunity there for Kiwi’s definitely.”
. . . Ahead
Leckey, who keeps a firm eye on future deployments, is also highlighting the expanding Asia cruise offering. As an example, the new WindStar Starseeker will be based out of Thailand. “So there’s going to be cruises from Phuket to Bangkok—and that’s a whole other region for Kiwi agents to sell:
. . . Upskill
As the annual Cruise360 conference commences in Brisbane, Leckey has one word for agents looking to make more from selling cruise—ask. “A lot more agents are doing the CLIA training and understanding the product, but your true cruise agents are the ones who actually offer a cruise with everything. And that’s where we see our big cruise outlets with bigger cruise sales than we’ve ever seen.” “A rising tide lifts all ships, right? So that’s why we really focus on CLIA to get new consultants involved, but consultants need to keep up-to-date with the product and understanding things like technology but also what’s happening in the environment space.” Agents, he adds, ‘need to understand what shore power means, what’s green energy, what is green methanol. Agents need to understand it so that they can talk confidently and tick off some of those [client] concerns early on so they’re not concerns’.
. . . Unbeatable Value
When asked about cruise’s value proposition, Leckey is definitive. “You can’t beat the value [of cruise] can you? No matter what category you’re in, whether it’s ultra-luxury or whether it’s great value—accommodation, transport, food, entertainment are included—nothing else really ticks those boxes does it?”
