OCEANIA Cruises has reaffirmed its commitment to the Australian trade, revealing Australia is the fastest growing global market for both the brand and its sister line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Close to 95% of the business has come from the trade, with revenue for the brands doubling within two years of opening a local Australian office.
Steve McLaughlin, vp sales Australia and NZ, Oceania Cruises told CW the driving force for Oceania’s growth was opening an office in Sydney, enabling further trade engagement.
“We’ve provided for the travel trade here in Australia the tools that they wanted, we’ve got the Australian dollar brochures, the fixed pricing and all the support that goes along with it in sales and marketing, all the way through to the reservations team, so we make it easy for them.”
McLaughlin said education is paramount for Oceania, outlining plans to grow the local office’s trade database by 50%.
“We’re one of the better kept secrets in cruise but we actually want to break out of that mould and move on,” he told CW.
McLaughlin said the brand’s culinary offering, which it promotes as “the finest cuisine at sea”, is a big drawcard for Australian travellers.
Not having to dress up at dinner is also appealing, along with having an illy barista able to make coffee “as you like it”, he said.
