By Virginia López Valiente
Managing Director of Cruises News Media Group and Editor of CruisesNews magazine
Editorial from CruisesNews magazine no. 65 – June 2023
Ask anyone, and you'll see this is proving to be a good year, or rather an exceptional one, for cruise lines and the travel agents who sell them. It's true that sales skyrocketed so unusually in the first quarter that everyone rushed to recalculate their projections. However, while the second quarter was also good, it hasn't been as strong as the first, and the overall trend is more steady.
That cruises are popular, because the value for money as a vacation product is undeniable, was already known, and even more so by the shipping companies that have been investing in more ships, more sustainable, both large and small.
The first indication of how well the year is going is that we're talking about it in the first half of the year, not the last quarter. Ten ships have been launched in this period, and just as many are scheduled to be launched in the second half. Large, medium, small, river cruisers, ocean-going vessels, luxury ships, and expedition ships. The press has been invited to view many as a traditional pre-launch ritual, while others have been or will be launched without a media presentation, presumably to capitalize on the hype and sell all the cabins as soon as they are delivered from the shipyard.
Television commercials used to be seasonal, but now we see them year-round, which highlights the fact that each company is opting for a different type of campaign. They are all making tremendous efforts, not only to make their ships the most advanced and sustainable but also to communicate this effectively. However, when it comes to promotion or sales campaigns, only a few focus on the ecological future of their brand. We've seen modern and inspiring television commercials focused on the green future of cruises, in contrast to others that continued to promote the traditional concepts of excursions and all-inclusive packages.
The truth is that this sector is increasingly penetrating the travel market, because cruises' competition is not other ships; cruises compete with beach holidays, country holidays, package holidays, Caribbean resorts, in short, with any form of vacation.
This year, the figures for 2019 will be surpassed, and Spaniards continue to travel, each time becoming a little more adventurous. The fact that we booked our holidays at the beginning of the year, despite the rising cost of living we're experiencing, only puts us on par with more mature markets. It makes us more demanding, giving us the power of choice and preventing us from settling for just any cruise, any cabin, or any date.
The growth potential of cruise lines is enormous, as they consistently demonstrate, and cruise travel will become a top choice for vacations. Now is the time to book winter holidays, and I eagerly await the year-end figures, but we can confidently say that this is shaping up to be a great year, and if it surpasses 2019, it will be the best year ever.
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