TRAVEL consultants play a vital role in growing cruise tourism within the Asia-Pacific region, but more needs to be done in order to address their lack of knowledge about cruising.
“Travel (consultants) are an indispensable channel for the promotion of cruising as a holiday alternative. They are the main contact point through which cruise lines can reach out to potential customers in Asia-Pacific who have never taken a cruise before,” said Roberto Giorgi, president, V.Ships.
“That is why it is essential for the cruise industry to come together to garner their support and to educate them.”
Gianni Onorato, president of Costa Cruises, explained that the cruise line constantly engages with travel consultants to convince them of the benefits of selling cruises.
“We are on the right track in this respect, but there’s still a lot do. (Travel consultants) have to be persuaded as to why they should sell cruises over other holiday types. This can be a challenge as cruising is still in its infancy in Asia, and hence, there’s a limited number of destinations ships can call on, which in turn undermines the sector’s cost competitiveness,” he said.
In response to the industry’s call to tackle knowledge gaps with regards to the value of cruising and types of products available, the Asia Cruise Association (ACA) is looking to launch scheduled standalone training courses for travel consultants.
Kevin Leung, ACA general manager, said: “Although we’ve initiated training programmes during key travel tradeshows such as ITB Asia and Cruise Shipping Asia, ACA identified a need to have a regular offering of training sessions to ensure that travel (consultants) are able to sell cruises as a viable option.”
A manager at WTS Travel & Tours Singapore, Cynthia Kho, welcomed the idea of more training for travel consultants. “Although cruise lines have been engaging with individual travel (consultants), dedicated training sessions will help to raise the profile of cruising, owing to the wider exposure,” she said.
