| Growth ahead of expectations

ICCA chairman Gavin Smith
has urged the industry to
capitalise on the growth of
2010.
SPEAKING EXCLUSIVELY TO CW TODAY, SMITH SAID
the scale of Australian cruising’s growth last
year was “ahead of my expectations”.
“Cruise lines tend to operate conservatively
and independently, so to see everyone’s results
on a consolidated basis is exciting, and it
allows us to celebrate our joint success,” he said.
Announced on Monday, the ICCA report
revealed 27% year on year growth, which
Smith said reinforced the validity of activity
within the cruise industry.
“It’s important to demonstrate that we are
delivering volume in response to the support
we’re getting from the government,” he said.
“To grow by 100,000 passengers in one
year shows that the industry is far from maturing.”
Australians’ continued interest in local
destinations is also encouraging, Smith added.
“If you aggregate the figures for the South
Pacific and New Zealand, more than 300,000
people are cruising close to home, so that
means travel agents can continue to attract
entry-level cruisers to low-priced local holidays
and then overseas to Europe and Asia.”
Smith also acknowledged the “solid”
performance of river cruising and its role in
building the cruise market.
“All of the product is great and new, which
is broadening the appeal of cruising to
Australians and bringing people back to smallship
cruising outside of the luxury brands.”
Smith’s main message to agents was to
reflect on whether their sales growth was
consistent with market growth.
“It’s time to ask whether your cruise
business grew by 27%,” he said.
To cruise lines’ Australian representatives,
Smith advised using the statistics to gain
additional investment from head office.
“The strong results should assist in
attracting either marketing funds or further
deployments in Australia.”