Itravel tips its hat to the cruise sector
ITRAVEL Managing Director Steven Labroski has gushed about the importance of the cruise industry to his business, telling Cruise Weekly the support and service his travel agency network received during the pandemic went “above and beyond”.
Speaking during itravel’s 2023 conference in the Hawkesbury over the weekend, Labroski said all segments of cruise sales had been growing for the company in recent months, conceding he wished he moved on getting involved with cruise a lot sooner.
“If I look at our business and where it is today from the cruise side, I wish I was smarter many years ago to play more in the cruise market, the cruise industry has been exceptionally generous to the industry and they’ve been there for us through all of these tough times,” he said.
During the COVID shutdown, Labroski said it was forwardthinking cruise brands that “kept us in the game” and “moving forward”, by proactively reaching out to ensure relationships were being preserved in preparation for the return of travel.
“[Cruise lines] maintained commissions, looked at marketing opportunities, and also helped us move forward with certain funding to protect some of our commissions to make sure that we had enough money to get by, because they still see agents as the future,” he said.
When asked why cruise lines view travel agents as an opportunity for growth when major players in other sectors such as air have taken a different stance, Labroski believes the answer ultimately lies in the abundance of choice out there in the cruise market.
“The biggest difference in cruise is there’s a sailing for everybody, and as an industry we need to understand that when you’re selling a product, you need to be selling the right product to the right customer.
“[Royal Caribbean] doesn’t want someone that’s not a Royal customer on their ship, Celebrity is a different can of fish, so is Viking and every one of these products that are in the market which are very different and unique in what they bring.
“For someone that wasn’t a big cruise person compared to who I am now, I’ve seen that difference, and I understand that you need to qualify the right customer on the right product,” Labroski added.
The itravel chief said he “had to take his hat off to the cruise sector”, saying cruise lines clearly want to grow with the business and see its network succeed.