Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ first quarter revenue, EBITDA improve but losses prevail

Details

Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 15 May 2014 15 May 2014

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, the UK based destinational cruise operator jointly owned by the Olsen family’s two Oslo listed holding companies Ganger Rolf and Bonheur, has reported a rise in revenues and operating result, but net losses remained unchanged from year on in the first three months of 2014, Bonheur said in a statement.

Revenues rose to NOK419 million from NOK386 million, while EBITDA increased to NK124 million from NK1 million. Net loss of MNK46 million was unchanged from a year ago.

“The UK cruise market’s weak economic conditions and overcapacity continued to result in lower sale. The number of passenger days totaled 300 343 (296 800) for the quarter. Net ticket income per diem was 5 % lower compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The average spot price of fuel oil in the quarter was 4% lower than in 1 quarter 2013,” Bonheur said.

Cruise industry must embrace digital world more as shopping habits change - Azamara UK’s Twynam

Details

Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Top Headlines Top Headlines

Published: 15 May 2014 15 May 2014

Shopping habits and desires are changing, so cruise companies need to get on board with digital marketing before those customers look elsewhere, Richard Twynam, UK managing director of Azamara Club Cruises, writes in a column published by Travel Weekly today.

The statement was made against a background of a 16% rise in UK online retail sales in 2013 that reached £91 billion, about $155 billion, according to Cap Gemini, the business consultancy. They forecast a 17% rise in online spending for 2014, when the total should reach £107 billion.

Twynham said he recently met Travel Weekly team and found they were somewhat surprised, when he was asked about what he hoped to achieve in his executive committee role at CLIA Cruise Lines’ International Association), that he hopes to use his digital marketing knowledge to improve understanding in the cruise sector.

“This is not an uncommon reaction. I think there are a couple of reasons why the perception of the cruise industry is that it’s behind the curve,” he writes.

“Firstly, from an agent’s perspective, the breadth of choice and cruise product available to sell is massive, and therefore while most would acknowledge that a website is a given and perhaps some targeted paid search, many feel a wider approach is needed, with adverts across print media and window advertising, for example.”

“Secondly, digital marketing can be confusing, with so many questions to answer and lots of new acronyms to learn at high speed. What is digital marketing anyway? Is it email communications to your database, digital advertising, e-commerce, social media, or as simple as paid and organic search? And then once you’ve got that sorted which electronic devices are most important? Tablet, mobile phone or PC - the list of questions is endless.”

Well, with my CLIA hat on, I see digital marketing as a blend of all of these things. More customers are expecting this, and demand for digital communications has grown in recent years and continues to do so. Activities do not have to be mutually exclusive or overly expensive.”

“Effective digital marketing also requires a basic understanding of 'pull' and 'push' marketing. For instance, with 'pull' digital marketing, prospects are actively seeking content on your product, and consideration needs to be given to ensure you are investing effectively with PPC and organic search, to aid web searches so that your product is prominently displayed when visitors are browsing.”

“Email communications need to be targeted, messages and timing must be appropriate to the recipient, to maximise on open and click through rates, and in turn, drive higher levels of conversion. With 'push' digital marketing, cruise brands need to pro-actively send out digital communications, advertising messages, blogs, to ensure messages and information are received easily, without the prospect actively having to seek them.”

“When I worked with the Kuoni team, helping them to create their cruise programme, I was really impressed at how they had a created a virtual team to handle social media - certain members of staff from across the business had volunteered to own a social media channel to monitor and contribute. This was a superbly cost-effective way of keeping their social media strategy local and relevant and their costs down.”

“With my Azamara hat on, I’m gradually getting to meet all the members of our distribution. It’s been six years since I was last on the supplier side, and the biggest shift I’ve noticed is how in the cruise sector, travel agents are asking for contributions towards PPC terms. I can understand why; however in some cases, I fear that neither party truly knows the benefits, ROI or pitfalls of doing that, and that an annual digital plan would be better.”

“Don’t get me wrong... Azamara is not yet a shining beacon of Azamazing digital marketing - we have a website in desperate need of a refurbishment, and this is currently underway. We are also reviewing our digital marketing strategy.”

“But Azamara is in fantastic shape - seven awards in the Cruise Critic small ship category is proof of that - and as part of our digital strategy we have a robust social campaign, which includes Larry Pimentel, our chief executive, as our main tweeter, a dedicated social team, and an industry first with a chief blogging officer.”

“In closing, I would counsel any member of the agency community to start by taking baby steps, and understanding what digital marketing works best for them in the cruise arena, and is most cost-effective.”

“What’s clear is that your customer’s shopping habits are changing and their desire for content is growing, and if you don’t place those habits and desires at the heart of your digital marketing then they may choose to shop elsewhere,” he concluded.