Saturday, 19 October 2024
FCTG’s CruiseHQ readies to ‘quickly’ scale
by Rose White
Australian B2B cruise marketplace, CruiseHQ, is preparing to rapidly scale, says Greg Parker, CEO Supply a Flight Centre Travel Group, with international markets possible.
In Sydney last night, CruiseHQ hosted a lavish VIP Supplier Celebration event at Crown Sydney, welcoming more than 60 cruise line partners, senior executives from Flight Centre Travel Group and trade media (including LATTE).
Launched six-months ago (to the day), CruiseHQ is connecting Flight Centre Travel Group’s extensive agency networks with cruise holiday options through seamless booking technology and a team of cruise experts.
“By building great partnerships and blending Flight Centre Travel Group’s exceptional offerings across air, land, and sea, we curate an incredible selection of cruise products that drive revenue and growth,” said Caroline Hitchen, General Manager, CruiseHQ. “We are so proud to have launched our dedicated Agent booking portal, which features best-in-market booking technology, rich content, and a suite of tools to help our thousands of travel advisors sell the best cruise packages.”
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Since its launch just a few months ago, the Agent booking portal has seen significant success, driving nearly 95% of its total transaction value from international sailings.
CruiseHQ’s offerings include comprehensive package solutions—covering everything from wholesale and cruise airfares to pre-and post-experiences, hotels, transfers, and rail.
The event also celebrated the introduction of customisable white-label websites for independent agencies. The innovative technology stack allows agencies to feature their own branding and tailored content, enhancing their marketing efforts and generating more interest in cruise holidays.
“With a focus on international long-haul and multi-component bookings, and through our strong buying power with Flight Centre Travel Group, CruiseHQ is here, behind the scenes, partnering with our agencies to deliver a unique and exclusive offering to compete in market.”
“The propensity to cruise has never been stronger, and we are thrilled to see more Australians cruising than in 2019,” Hitchen added. “At the heart of any successful business is the strength of its relationships, and I can confidently say that the partnerships we have with our suppliers and agencies are at the core of our success.”
As CruiseHQ continues to expand its reach, the company remains committed to delivering exceptional value to its agency partners and ensuring a bright future for the cruise travel sector.
Sharing background on the development of CruiseHQ, Parker told trade partners: “We identified that there was a massive gap in the market, particularly together with curated packages across world-class air, hotel, also touring and insurance, and everything that gets bundled in.
“We thought bringing that together in one marketplace was going to be a winning strategy,” he said, fresh off a flight from Singapore after business meetings.
Parker said CruiseHQ was determined to find solutions for cruise lines with ‘pain-points’ or wanting to explore growth opportunities.
“The sector is growing. The sector is booming,” he said of cruising.
“We’re really keen about what the next few years are going to offer us. We will scale and we will accelerate really, really quickly,” he told partners.
On the sidelines of the event, Parker told LATTE the ambition is for CruiseHQ to be exported abroad.
The post FCTG’s CruiseHQ readies to ‘quickly’ scale appeared first on LATTE Luxury News.
