‘2025 will be the year of the travel agent’, says Atlas sales lead
Atlas Ocean Voyages will focus on growing its relations with the UK travel trade in 2025 with a raft of new incentives and training tools
Having spent the majority of 2024 building the brand’s reputation amongst consumers in the UK, this year the expedition cruise line will turn its attention to the travel agent community.
Speaking to Cruise Trade News, Atlas Ocean Voyages international sales lead Bernard Carter outlined plans to introduce a new trade portal next month which will feature training modules, marketing tools and brand information.
“In addition to that, we’ve launched a Facebook page dedicated to the UK travel trade to further enhance our relationships with agents across the country,” Carter said.
“For us, 2025 is the year of the travel agent, because we know that the trade will be responsible for a massive part of our success as we grow.”
Carter praised the line’s general sales agent (GSA) in the UK, The Cruise Line, for boosting its reputation in the market and helping the company to reach new customers.
“More and more agents want to book Atlas and the infrastructure is now in place so they can do everything through The Cruise Line, which is fully bonded and will provide pricing in local currency,” Carter explained.
“Not only am I working directly with more of the trade, I’m also targeting some of the biggest players, like Hays Travel, Advantage, Travel Counsellors and the Fred Olsen Travel Group, on the commercial and promotional side of things, to help elevate the brand further in the UK.”
This year the line will engage with more than 400 agents across a range of ship visits and UK roadshow events in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow.
Carter said he will look to engage with “empathetic travel advisors who know and understand their customers” as providing a concierge-style service “fits with the way Atlas operates”.
“The best travel agent is the consultative travel agent,” he continued. “Ask the questions, get the guests talking, and get them to give you the information you need to help you place them on the right cruise.”
