The 600-member Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) is beginning to focus on cruises, a market that remains largely untapped for its members.
Plans include a B2B mini cruise fair alongside PTAA’s general membership meeting (GMM) on September 11, serving as a prelude to the association’s first Cruise Expo, scheduled to coincide with its 33rd Travel Trade Expo in February next year.
As of press time, the mini cruise fair, to be held next week at Solaire Resort in Manila, lists 12 cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Disney Cruises and several river cruise operators.
PTAA president Evangeline T Manotok told TTG Asia that cruising remains an untouched outbound market, with feedback from cruise companies indicating that only 24,000 Filipinos have cruised, compared with more than 100,000 passengers from other countries.
Manotok said that selling cruises provides “a bigger avenue where travel agencies can earn more”, noting that cruise companies support travel agencies and that agencies can increase revenue by selling not only cruise packages and air tickets but also hotel packages, land arrangements and tour excursions.
Cruise rates remain commissionable to travel agencies, unlike airline bookings. Domestic airlines no longer offer commissions regardless of the number of bookings, while some international airlines still provide commissions to IATA agents, though others do not.
