| Interview with a Cruise Expert

ICCA general manager, Brett Jardine
asked Mark Smith from Lets Cruise in
Auckland to share some thoughts on his
cruise success.
When did you start your ICCA Accreditation?
I completed my initial Accreditation in
2005 and have recently completed the
Masters Conference on board Radiance of
the Seas which was an amazing learning
experience.
How has this helped grow your cruise sales?
Being part of the ICCA has played a major
part in our cruise business through
excellent training of all staff and a growing
number of other opportunities such as
being part of a group attending
Cruise3sixty in North America – this is
invaluable for us!
How do you promote your ICCA
Accreditation?
We promote our Membership and
Accreditation in every aspect of our
marketing. This gives us a lot of credibility
and there is no doubt has played a part in
boosting our cruise sales.
What potential do you see for cruising
from the New Zealand market?
Like Australia, New Zealand is still a very
young market with only 1% of the nation
having taken a cruise. This means massive
potential which I am very pleased to be
part of and I have no doubt our figures will
only get better & better year on year!
In 2010 Lets Cruise was voted Bronze
Cruise Agency of the Year for NZ in just
the second year of operation and last
weekend was
awarded 2011
Silver Cruise
Agency of the
Year. A very
motivated office is
now striving for
Gold at the next
Cruise Industry
Awards!