Celebrity Cruises is launching a bold new initiative to change the meaning of “all-inclusive” in the travel industry.
All-Inclusive Photo Project
Recognising the need to improve the representation of all people who travel in marketing materials, Celebrity Cruises has created both a new campaign and the world’s first free to use, ‘open source’ travel image library. The ‘All-Inclusive Photo Project’ (AIPP) – aims to start a movement, calling on travel companies to help address the lack of diversity in travel marketing imagery.
The stunning new images were unveiled today and feature the work of acclaimed photographers including: Annie Leibovitz, herself an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community; Giles Duley, an English documentary photographer and a triple amputee; Naima Green, a Black, queer New York-based photographer; and Jarrad Seng, an Australia-based photographer, filmmaker and creative director of Malaysian-Chinese descent.
The collection features models, musicians, athletes, artists, activists, refugees and more, all change-makers in their own right from underrepresented groups, as they enjoy Celebrity’s ships and destinations visited.
Open-Source Online Library
Celebrity Cruises will make dozens of the images available via an open-source online library for other travel brands and companies to use to help kickstart their journeys towards more inclusive travel marketing.
Celebrity Cruises is committed to educating and empowering agents and their support in showcasing diverse and inclusive imagery where possible is critical to truly effect change. On the Celebrity Central website, agents can access and learn how to best use the All-Inclusive Photo Project images.
Celebrity Central – LGBTQ+ Toolkit
On Celebrity Central, partners can access a dedicated LGBTQ+ Toolkit, designed to help agents understand everything that Celebrity Cruises offers LGBTQ+ guests. Agents can “lift and shift” content, such as dedicated sales resources, to promote the fourth annual Pride Party at Sea, commencing on Celebrity Edge’s 7-night Italy, France, & Spain cruise on 4th June 2022. Celebrity Central offers agents a comprehensive suite of sales and marketing toolkits, including social-ready content and digital banners and agent e-learning platform, Celebrity Passport, has a dedicated D&I training module.
“For far too long, ‘all-inclusive’ in the travel industry has meant everything on your vacation is included in one price. We set out to challenge this conventional thinking by imagining the phrase through the lens of others,” said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. “What Annie and all of the talented artists involved in this project have captured so beautifully, is that for vacations to really live up to the marketing moniker ‘all-inclusive,’ then they should start by using images that are inclusive of all, not just a few.”
“As global brands, we have a powerful platform to act as a catalyst of positive change. We know we have more work to do and we hope we inspire others to join us on this important journey. By leveraging our collective travel industry might, we can begin to make travel marketing truly ‘all-inclusive,’” said Michael Scheiner, Celebrity Cruises’ Chief Marketing Officer.
Celebrity Cruises will launch the AIPP collection as a dedicated brand advertising campaign in early April.
It follows a global advertising campaign the brand introduced last September, called “Journey WonderFULL,” marking a distinctive and bold new approach for the new-luxury travel brand and the first major step to advance diversity and inclusivity in its own travel marketing with a wide range of diverse travellers depicted.
With a penchant for rising above the norms, Celebrity Cruises has long been an industry catalyst for change with barrier-breaking initiatives including: an intentional effort started in 2015 to attract more women to the maritime industry, where only 2% of mariners are female, that led to the appointment of the first American female captain, Kate McCue; the first West African woman to work on the bridge of a cruise ship; the 2020 history-making all-female Bridge and Leadership team sailing; and the recent announcement that 32% of the brand’s Bridge officers are now women; embracing same-sex marriages at sea and conducting the largest, annual Pride Party at sea; and, the first cruise line to eliminate 90 percent of single-use plastics across its fleet.
For more information on the photographers and talent featured in the AIPP campaign, consumers can visit www.celebritycruises.com/PhotoProject.
Travel brands and companies interested in accessing the AIPP library, which Celebrity Cruises will continue to add images to overtime, should visit https://allinclusivephotoproject.com.
