At a Lunch and Learn function today in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin, Travelsavers Ireland launched its ‘Cruise into Savings’ promotion for October in conjunction with the consortium’s preferred cruise suppliers: Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Holland America, Silversea and Norwegian.
Mary King, Marketing Manager, told the agents attending: “Travelsavers Ireland is delighted to be running this new campaign in 2011, which will focus on increasing cruise sales for our agents for 2011/2012 and all the offers will be featured in the month of October. Travelsavers agents will receive exclusive promotions and incentives, a three-part Cruise Webinar series, and a marketing tool kit. The tool kit includes information on preparing a press release, emails and flyers to promote the event and instructions on how to host a successful cruise night.”
To enhance the programme Travelsavers has created two micro websites, one for consumers and one for agents, and also provided an ad with a click through for agents to place on their web pages and emails to promote the programme.
“We recognise the importance of the cruise market to our agents as the only growth area in an otherwise declining market place due to the economic conditions prevailing at the moment,” said Helena Sweeney of Travelsavers Ireland. “By devising this campaign we are helping to drive extra business to our agents.”
Shannon O’Dowd of One Stop Touring Shop gave a presentation on the Unique Boutique River Cruises from the new Uniworld 2012 brochure, which has just been released, as well as details of the incredible value of the European Christmas Markets cruise.
Jenny Rafter of Royal Caribbean outlined the great value available on the company’s cruises, especially the Christmas cruise from Dubai. Some agents took part in RCL’s suitcase packing competition.
Tony Bond, Director of Sales for Travelsavers Ireland, gave a presentation on the OnlineXpress booking engine and how it saves valuable time and money for agents. “In the current climate where agencies are down to two staff, OnlineXpress is a very valuable tool for increasing productivity,” he said. “A staff member can cut the time of searching for holidays or putting together a dynamic package from 45 minutes down to 10 minutes. Think of how this can affect how you run your business.”
Helena Sweeney, Travelsavers Ireland, with Jackie Spain and Ann Marie Gill, JK Travel
Shannon O’Dowd, One Stop Touring Shop
Jackie Spain and Ann Marie Gill, JK Travel; Tony Fitzpatrick, Airboran Travel; and Fergus Roche, Form Travel
Jenny Rafter of Royal Caribbean demonstrates what’s required in the cruise line’s Pack a Suitcase competition
