Azamara has hailed the performance of UK and Irish agents as it prepares to deliver a record-breaking year

David Siewers, chief sales officer, told select media that the UK and Ireland is currently the line’s fastest-growing and highest-performing market, which he attributes to agents, adding 90 per cent of bookings are made through the trade.

He reported double digit growth for 2027 with bookings at “historic rates” for 2028 driven by international markets, which made up 40 per cent of all Azamara bookings, with the UK and Irish market accounting for 20 per cent of all overall sales.

Despite ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Siewers confirmed the line’s cancellation rate is the same as it usually is, saying within a few weeks of the war in Iran breaking out, the cancellation rate found a “healthy plateau that isn’t above our normal business cancellation rate”.

He noted there was a decline in European bookings from the North American market, but said the UK and Ireland “stepped up” to fill the bookings for Q2 and Q3 this year.

“In this last quarter, there have been geopolitical headwinds, consumer uncertainty and fuel concerns, but despite that, we’re still on track do deliver a record-breaking year,” he said.

“Our success this quarter is driven by the fact Azamara remains a global brand and UK and Ireland is our fastest-growing and highest-performing market right now which we attribute fully to our trade partners – we couldn’t do this without the trade.

“The fact we continue to perform so strongly is a testament to our agent partnerships. Paying our travel agent partners’ commission is the best expense we could have.”

Siewers went on to say the line is hosting more than 350 agents on board this year through ship visits and seminars at sea, which he said was a record number.

He added he would like to welcome more agents on ships and is considering creating more incentive programmes so agents can sail.

“We want more opportunities for agents to come on board,” he said. “The issue is finding ports close to the UK that our partners are willing to travel to for a day visit.

“We’ve maxxed out our ship visit programme this year but we know even more agents want to come on board so we will try to create more incentives so they can take their own holidays with us.”

The line is also launching a new campaign called “The Next Big Thing is Small” which it said is inspired by the emotional connections passengers make both on board and ashore.

Dondra Ritzenthaler, Azamara chief executive, said: “The experiences that stay with us aren’t always the grandest moments; they’re often the unexpected conversations, the hidden discoveries and the personal connections that happen when we have the time and space to fully immerse ourselves in a destination.

“We’ve always believed that smaller ships create bigger opportunities for those moments and that belief has never been more relevant than it is today as travellers increasingly seek experiences that feel authentic, personal and emotionally rewarding.”