CLIA survey shows optimism for 2009 bookings
Ferry Online Travel News 09/04/2009
The “wave season” survey found most predicting this year to be the same or better than 2008.
According to the poll recently conducted by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), travel agents in the US continue to be optimistic about cruise sales this year despite the condition of the economy.
The online survey was focused on the 2009 “wave season”, which is the period from January through March that typically sees the heaviest cruise bookings. More than 1,000 responses to the CLIA survey confirmed what cruise line operators were saying – that the outlook for the industry this year was good, despite the global economic turndown.
“Given the exceptional economic environment we find ourselves in, these survey results should be taken as good news,” noted CLIA president and CEO Terry Dale. “They show every indication that consumers are responding to the value offered by cruise vacations and to the many incentives offered by CLIA member cruise lines.”
He went on to say: “What is particularly significant is that travel agents are relatively optimistic not only about cruise booking volumes but about revenues in 2009 as well. This suggests that they believe the industry's pricing and marketing strategies will compensate for and even overcome the conditions that have lowered consumer confidence in other business sectors, such as retail and residential real estate.”
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