Royal Caribbean to have Indian portal
With just 80,000 Indians a year opting for cruise holidays, cruise tourism is one of the most untapped tourism segments in the country. To bring in end-toend solutions and provide complete value chain experience for the trade, Royal Caribbean International is in process of introducing a dedicated website in India. TIRUN Travel Marketing, who is representing the cruise company in India, is currently working closely with the trade across India and is positive to launch the dedicated portal. The portal will not only provide information about the various cruise ships, packages, dates of travel and routes, but also provide accessibility to check availability and online booking channel. It will also act as an online training portal which will help front-line staff understand the cruise company and sell it better to travellers.
Recently, Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas ship made her first Asian stop at Mormugao Port, Goa. Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN Travel Marketing said, “With only close to 80,000 cruise passengers a year from India, the potential is huge in the coming years.” The company tied up with JetEscapes, the holiday brand from Jet Airways, to launch ‘ Fly Cruise’ packages for ‘ Mariner of The Seas’ cruiseship. TIRUN Travel Marketing is also working closely with trade and expanding its focus to mini-metro cities. With airlines intending to remove travel agents from their supply chain and reaching out directly to end- consumers, Royal Caribbean is strengthening its relations with the trade. Chadha said, “It is impossible to think of removing the trade from our distribution chain, as they are the most important part of our value chain.”