North American tourism to Switzerland has doubled since 2019 and the demand for increased transportation has been answered. Convenient and culturally immersive, Switzerland has given the North American tourist, and diligently planning travel agents, a giant transportation high five. There are now three new and noteworthy options for entering this picturesque, storybook country. For business or leisure tourists, getting to Switzerland has never been easier or more culturally immersive Read the rest of this entry »

As discussed in the last Point-to-Point column, travel advisor independent contractors (ICs) are renters rather than owners that can become affiliated with as many host agencies as they wish. While few ICs will want to do business with more than two or three host agencies, there is a strong business case for not limiting yourself to one.

Also as discussed in the earlier article, you may want to do this to take advantage of a second host agency’s strengths; or it may be to avoid what you see as glaring weaknesses of your present choice. On a more obvious level, a second (or third) host agency may improve your bargaining position regarding commission rates and FAM trips. Read the rest of this entry »

Travel Agent ICs (Independent Contractors) are like month-to-month renters:

• ICs don’t own their host agencies.
• ICs can move with as little as 30 days’ notice.
• Host agencies can end the relationship with as little as 30 days’ notice.
• ICs can rent as many “homes” as they wish.

Some host agency executives treat signing with several agencies or dropping one in favor of another as an indication of Read the rest of this entry »

When one of your clients seeks your help in supporting their decision to buy a new travel camera, you can describe how the number of megapixels in a new camera’s sensor plays a crucial role in determining the quality of their photos.

Image Detail and Resolution

Higher megapixel counts provide greater image detail and resolution. A sensor with more megapixels captures more information, resulting in sharper and more defined images. This is especially useful in travel photography when capturing intricate details of architecture, landscapes, cultural artifacts, or capturing scenes with Read the rest of this entry »

As many travel agents view it, providing airline tickets isn’t a real business—it’s a giveaway. Since domestic tickets don’t pay commissions, they serve as loss leaders for compensation paid by cruise lines, hotels, resorts, and escorted tour providers. Selling Business Class and First-Class air tickets is a different matter due to the huge commissions paid, but they probably account for no more than 10-15 percent of the tickets that pay nothing.

The lack of financial incentives isn’t the only problem. Unless your business is large enough to justify a GDS, you spend much of your work life waiting on “hold” for airline service personnel, or listening to Sally explain why she can’t fly on Saturday or needs a window seat. Read the rest of this entry »

My wife and I have been cruising to Australia for nearly 25 years. During that time, we have never paid gratuities on any ship we’ve sailed. Some have been luxury lines, such as Silversea, where gratuities are never charged; others have been mid-priced, such as Azamara and Celebrity, where tipping is customary despite the fact they are (or were) owned by the same corporate entity.

The reason is explained in an article by Sally Macmillan, Tipping on Ships: An Australian Culture Clash, which starts off: Read the rest of this entry »

The changes in technologies that have surfaced this year will radically change how travel is sold before many realize what is happening. During the next two years, there will likely be changes that most industry travel industry experts haven’t imagined, because they have emerged from the little-known labs that develop natural language processing (NLP) computer software products rather than within the travel industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Because you’ve been on over 50 cruises or have made hundreds of cruise bookings, don’t think it will be “business as usual” for your new bookings. Many things have changed, and not just for the better.

This is especially true for the high-end “Big Three” cruise lines (Regent, Seabourn, and Silversea), where all-inclusive fares make it difficult for the lines to pay down their share of the massive $74 billion debt their parent companies (Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean) ran up during the pandemic; and fund the building of even more luxurious ships to fend off attacks from well-financed newcomers such as Viking, and Ritz-Carlton (Marriot).

Viking Ocean has burst on the nautical luxury scene with unbridled enthusiasm. With 10 cruise ships and 64 riverboats, some say they’re dominating the market already. No other cruise line visits so many ports each day. Their river craft are positioned close to the high-end of the market, but probably below AMA and Tauck in price and quality.

Let’s say one of your clients is a semi-retired couple living in Los Angeles. They’ve told you they think they’re in a rut now that their kids have left their home and they’ve lost contact with many former friends due to their moving away in the last few years. They eagerly await their annual cruises, but you know they are now seeking something more.

Ask them if they want to spend the next three years cruising worldwide. They reply, “We can’t afford it. We’re not millionaires.”

Suppose you’re a small travel agency or solo advisor who wants to ramp up your business quickly and inexpensively. One of the best ways of doing this is to focus on forming affinity groups embedded within cruises or tours. The idea is to identify potential travelers with something in common and allow them to travel somewhere special with like-minded folk.

In an ideal world, travel advisors should have visited their recommended destinations and traveled as guests on the same ships or tours they select for clients. They would be familiar with local customs, explore attractions and transportation options, and provide other information their clients may need. This will provide their clients with choices that are a closer match for their preferences and interests.

When traveling with valuable gear, such as cameras, jewelry, and prescription meds, it’s important to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of your belongings. Protecting your belongings is crucial to maintaining their value and functionality, whether you’re a tourist who enjoys taking photos as their travels progress, a diabetic who relies on insulin that needs to be kept cold, or someone who wants to show off different diamond bracelets when dining. We will discuss the best ways to travel with your treasures. We’ll explore some of the best alternatives available today.

I needed to research African photo safaris that could be linked to cruises. It would be a 2–3-week vacation with a budget of about $25,000 per couple. I’ve been looking for an opportunity to try out ChatGPT, and this looked like it would be a perfect test.

ChatGPT is a new computer program that can assist travel advisors—or middle school students, physicians, politicians, or anyone else—by helping them answer questions and provide client information. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and respond to text messages in a way that mimics human conversation.

The holidays are upon us, and it’s excellent news that bookings are up. But it’s not going to be a Merry Christmas if you don’t prepare your clients for the new realities of this winter’s cruises now that we’re facing the triple whammy of COVID, flu, and RSV.

Let’s face it. Cruises are now commodity products. Everyone sells the same ships and itineraries for similar prices. So how do you stand out from all the others selling the same cruise—maybe for a few dollars less?

Try focusing on things you can add to the cruise package.

When the feds removed COVID testing before embarkation regulations a few months ago, most travel advisors and cruise execs cheered. Bookings exploded—in some cases exceeding pre-pandemic levels—and some stock analysts saw relief from the vast debt the Big Three has amassed.

On September 22, Jack Stebbins reported on CNBC that total debt was 35 billion for Carnival, 25 billion for Royal Caribbean, and 14 billion for Norwegian. This is much less than their stock values that day, which were $11.01 billion, 11.18 billion, and 5.61 billion, respectively—less than half of what the companies owed. The article said that the cruise lines’ best hope is the luxury cruise market, which is not as sensitive to economic downturns. This luxury market is centered on “small ships,” with fewer than 1300 guests.

After three years “on the hard,” I was eager to cruise again on a line and ship that I had been on before. As our inaugural effort, we selected 12-night Fall Foliage Cruise on the Seabourn Quest. We started in New York City earlier this week and are now approaching Halifax in Nova Scotia. My intent is to describe how cruising has changed in the past three years.

As dedicated small-ship cruisers, we have sailed on 2-3 voyages a year for more than two decades: mostly on high-end lines including Silversea, Regent, Crystal, Oceania, Azamara, Windstar, and Seabourn. Later this year, I will do the same while we are cruising on some of the newest offerings from Viking Ocean and Regent.

The most common mistake travelers make is NOT taking a camera when cruising. “After all,” they say, “a smartphone is all use when I’m home. Why should I also bring a heavier camera?”

Cruises represent new challenges most of us don’t face in everyday life. We don’t spend as much time outdoors; we don’t need to contend with never-ending glare, and our subjects are usually within eight feet of us. Also, we’re not visiting places to which we might never return.

For all those reasons, you should take a “real” camera on your vacation along with your smartphone. The best travel cameras weigh less than 2 pounds—including the lens—and are nearly unnoticeable. They also don’t need a flash to take amazing photos.

I thought it would be interesting to see how some destinations and cruise lines have changed since 2021. The pandemic has been the worst period for the cruise industry since World War II. While the number of cruises is rebounding sharply, some destinations are facing a cloudy future as cruise destinations and many cruise lines are contending with daunting debt in ways that may affect how they treat their guests.

At the same time, there are some winners on which travel advisors can focus, if they want to benefit clients and themselves, as well as some question marks that can go either way.

Today, as never before, your clients’ price for travel purchases largely depends on when you buy them. It used to be that clients could be roughly placed in one of two groups: One that accepts the first offer before other buyers see it; and one that defers purchase decisions as long as possible.

• Those who follow the “buy it now” strategy know that when products are heavily promoted and advertised, the first offer is usually the best, and buyers who trail the pack won’t receive the same benefits or prices.
• Those that avoid making financial decisions feel that better opportunities are always available, if someone is willing to ferret them out.