| CLIA Cruise News & Views 11 Aug 16

Cruise Trends : Mentioned in Tue edition of Cruise
Weekly was the latest Travel Agent
Cruise Industry Outlook Report
from CLIA’s USA head office.
As the report is based on findings
from an extensive survey of North
American Travel Agents, some of
the data may not be relevant to the
Australasian market.
With this in mind, I would caution
reading too much into some figures
as North America is a much more
mature market than what we have
here and survey findings may differ
from the reality of what we are
seeing.
At the same time, I would
encourage you to look at some
trends that are emerging. History
will prove that we have followed
the North American market in many
retail trends for a number of years
(and continue to do so).
A couple of good examples are
the changes we have seen in the
warehouse style of distribution.
Outside of travel you only have to
look at brands such as Bunnings
and Costco and within travel the
emergence of major OTA’s.
Despite these ‘disruptors’ entering
the local market and forcing retail
agents to rethink their approach,
one thing that does remain
consistent is the presence of
specialty outlets.
Travel is often an emotive sale and
if you can add value to the process
whilst demonstrating an expertise
in any area (including cruise) you
will continue to be successful.

CONTRIBUTOR: Brett Jardine, CLIA Australasia