FLIGHT Centre has flagged its keen interest in undertaking acquisitions in the cruise sector as the company seeks to accelerate its growth trajectory over the coming years. Speaking at the opening address of the Travel Associates National Product Showcase event in Brisbane over the weekend, Global MD – Luxury and...
FLIGHT Centre has flagged its keen interest in undertaking acquisitions in the cruise sector as the company seeks to accelerate its growth trajectory over the coming years.
Speaking at the opening address of the Travel Associates National Product Showcase event in Brisbane over the weekend, Global MD – Luxury and Independent Brands, Danielle Galloway (pictured), confirmed the continued boom in cruise sales over the last 12 months has made the segment a clear target for strategic growth.
“There are so many businesses that don’t exist anymore due to COVID – especially in the cruise space – and we all know this is a huge opportunity and continues to be an opportunity for us to really be present in that cruise space and to grow it even further,” she explained.
“The growth of luxury independent agents will also be looking for cruise growth, so we’ll be looking for independent agencies, etc, to potentially acquire, so long as they’ve got the right people within those businesses,” she added.
Speaking to CW on the sidelines of the event, Galloway added that Flight Centre would be “crazy not to invest” in the cruise segment.
“The strength of the market is really significant and also there isn’t one strong player in the marketplace at the moment, because COVID depleted the industry, in particular there were so many boutique cruise agencies that existed that now aren’t servicing with the same specialisation that they were previously,” she said.
The bullish ambition followed a strong report card for Flight Centre’s luxury Travel Associates division, which recorded a significant growth in cruise TTV and revenue over the last year.
