Cruise lines bolster trade support with new tech partnership
Tauck and Oceania Cruises have partnered with tech platform Approach Guides to help travel agent partners boost their sales and marketing efforts
The Approach Guides platform is designed to reduce the workload of agents and travel advisors by creating personalised multimedia content for web, email and social to help drive engagement and conversions.
Tauck’s partnership with Approach Guides will allow agents to intuitively build custom marketing materials for the river cruise line, building in details that are specific to a particular sailing, including itinerary information, departure dates, pricing and more.
Meanwhile, Oceania Cruises has today unveiled a new trade solution of its own, named Oceania Insider Connect. Powered by Approach Guides, the marketing solution will allow agents to build co-brandable marketing pages to showcase the line’s itineraries, onboard experiences, destinations and promotions; and co-branded websites with real-time pricing and availability.
Both lines will host webinars to provide agents with necessary training on the new platforms. Tauck’s webinar will take place at 8pm on 24 July, while Oceania Cruises’ webinar will be held at 3pm on 30 July.
Lines seek to “turbocharge” their cruise sales with new partnership
“We’re seeing unprecedented demand for groups travel, especially for our river cruises,” said Steve Spivak, vice president, global sales and reservations, Tauck. “Our new technology is poised to revolutionise how our valued travel advisor partners sell this hot category, allowing them to be far more efficient, deliver an elevated class of service to their clients, and earn more.
“Working with Approach Guides to really turbocharge our advisors’ river cruise group sales is just the latest example of [our] longstanding efforts, and we’re thrilled to roll out this new technology.”
Nikki F. Upshaw, senior vice president of global sales at Oceania Cruises, added: “As we gear up for further growth with the addition of our eighth ship, Allura, launching next summer, this tool will support our travel partners and our mutual success.
“Our travel advisor partners are busier than ever and Oceania Insider Connect is precisely the type of innovative technology that will make it easy and efficient to grow their business.”
