A new study from Amadeus and The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) featuring 1,000 North American travel agencies has indicated that 72 percent of cruise specialists receive as many or more bookings from social media channels than agents who maintain their own websites.

Published: 15 Jun 2011

A new study from Amadeus and The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) featuring 1,000 North American travel agencies has indicated that 72 percent of cruise specialists receive as many or more bookings from social media channels than agents who maintain their own websites.

The study, From 'Likes' to 'Leads': Cruise Agents, Social Media & the Impact of Emerging Technologies, surveyed representatives at cruise lines as well as more than 1,000 cruise specialists, inquiring about their current engagement with social technologies.

Over 70 percent of cruise specialists have their own websites, about half of which allow for online booking. This however, does not predict social media adoption and success. Against expectations, 72 percent of the specialists without websites use social networks as an effective substitute, receiving as many or more bookings from social media tactics or initiatives as agents who have websites. This number drops to 41 percent for agents with marketing based Web sites and 30 percent with booking based websites.

Key findings:

- 54 percent of agencies actively use social networks to generate new business.

-Almost 20 percent of agents with clients younger than 45 years old receive approximately 33 percent of their leads from social media sources.

With more than 641 million members and a 35 percent annual growth rate, Facebook has become the second largest source of Web leads for cruise specialists after Google. Facebook business pages have been most effective for marketing and brand-building purposes, specifically, in the areas of:

-Customer engagement

-Posting offers or discounts

-Promoting new products/services

-Providing travel advice

-Allowing travelers to share their experiences

-Offering customer service

Additionally, many cruise lines are moving ahead with plans to develop mobile applications for use during the pre-booking, pre-cruise and on-board phases.

“Just like in other industries, travel professionals see emerging technologies -- and especially social media -- gaining momentum as legitimate and useful business tools,” said Scott Gutz, President and Chief Executive Officer for Amadeus North America. “It has room to run, but agents are already considering, testing and generating business using popular social channels to serve their customers and enhance their bottom-line.”

Cruise companies and social media

Cruise companies have seen a major shift in recent years for marketing and advertising initiatives due to the emergence and power of social media. All of the major cruise lines have established Facebook pages and many have Twitter profiles and blogs. The primary use of social media among cruise line companies is for marketing and brand building rather than direct sales. However, some companies do foresee an increase in sales directly via Facebook. Cruise line advertising is also experiencing a shift from seasonally targeted ad campaigns using traditional television and print media to more dynamic and conversational consumer-focused interactions with social media as the primary platform.

Leads

Survey results show that 54 percent of cruise agents actively use social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter and others to generate cruise leads. Agents drive leads through social media by engaging customers (68 percent), advertising (43 percent) and promoting new products or services (39 percent). Only 19 percent of respondents, however, indicated they use social media to provide travel advice or allow customers to share travel experiences.

And “getting social” means getting leads for many cruise agents. Fourteen percent of the agents surveyed reported at least 30 percent of their cruise customer leads come from social media interactions. Additionally, agents who use social media report attracting a higher percentage of first-time, younger cruisers, creating long-term relationship building opportunities for repeat sales. Nearly 20 percent of agencies that cater to cruise passengers under the age of 45 reported generating more than a third of their leads from social media.

“Unquestionably, social media is a gateway for agents to younger, non-traditional cruise passengers who will be cruising in the future,” said Gutz. “At the same time, studies show the fastest growing adoption of social media use is with the ‘over 50’ demographic, creating new marketing opportunities with traditional cruisers, too.”

Other technologies

Other technologies covered in the survey include mobile devices and cruise booking automation.

While social media is establishing itself as a credible business tool for cruise agents, the survey found less enthusiasm among agents for another emerging technology: mobile applications. Less than 40 percent of agents indicated that mobile applications would help their business, and less than half believe that passengers would value in-cruise apps that notify them about onboard events, dining notices, dress codes and similar information.

In terms of reservations automation, agents who use technologies supplied by global distribution systems (GDS), third-party booking engines or travel websites reported significantly greater stateroom bookings on an average annual basis than did agents who rely mainly on more traditional methods such as direct phone calls to the cruise lines.