Emphasising the emotional benefit of booking a cruise, utilising short form video content and elevating sustainability successes were just some of the key takeaways from Cruise Trade News’ 2026 Cruise Summit
More than 200 delegates attended Monday’s (14 September) event, which for the first time took place at 30 Euston Square, where speakers presented a series of sessions outlining the current and future state of the cruise industry.
The day began with a presentation by Cruise Trade News editors Will Payne and Josie Klein, who shared findings and trends based on two surveys operated by the publication and by its sister title, World of Cruising.
That was followed by Andy Harmer OBE, managing director of CLIA UK and Ireland, who shared the latest updates from the association, including the speed in which the sector is evolving, with six per cent growth in 2025 compared to the year before from the UK market.
Other highlights from the day included insights from Accord Marketing’s Jasman Ahmad, Google’s Stathis Filippatos, HolidayPirates’ Nick Cooper and Insider One's Nico Beukes, who shared exclusive insights into travel trends from social media and other marketing platforms.
Below, we’ve highlighted some of the key takeaways and insights shared throughout the day.
Finding the emotion
Creating an emotional story is more compelling than simply explaining a cruise line’s offering, experts concluded.
Carly Perkins, senior marketing manager at Seabourn, encouraged agents to present their clients with an emotional reason for choosing a sailing, such as wanting to spend time with their loved ones, to entice them into booking.
“It’s all about finding emotional stories to attract either new-to-cruise or new-to-brand customers,” she said. “At Seabourn, we call them our Seabourn Moments, which really just means those special experiences which are unique to each customer, but are the memories they come home with that last a lifetime. That’s how you create loyal clients.”
Similarly, Jasman Ahmad, chief strategy officer at Accord Marketing, highlighted the importance of provoking an emotional response from consumers.
“A lot of cruise lines focus their marketing on the product, explaining what they offer on board and the destinations they sail to,” he said. “But the really successful marketing is all about explaining the emotional benefit of taking a cruise to a customer which allows them to become invested in a sailing in a deeper, more personal way.”
Will Sarson, product director at Riviera Travel, agreed, saying: “The emotional side of a sailing is key, whether it is eating a local dish so guests feel connected to a destination or sipping a glass of wine while looking out over the vineyard it came from – tapping into customers’ emotions is so important.”
Stathis Filippatos, industry manager at Google, encouraged agents to utilise AI to do their more menial tasks so they can concentrate on what really matters to their clients.
He said: “Use AI to allow you to do what you do best: creating that emotional connection for your customers.”
Short form video content is king
Agents should utilise short form video content on social media as it is the best way to target travel customers, said Nick Cooper, head of market UK at HolidayPirates Group.
He quoted Expedia data which stated 77 per cent of travellers say their leading source of information comes from social content and 49 per cent of travellers say they have wanted to book an entire trip they have seen on social media.
He encouraged delegates to use short form video content to capture the market, saying it is important to implement a “social first strategy”.
“Social media itself is not a homogenous mass, it has nuances and in the last two years we have seen significant growth in short form video content,” he said.
“We have almost given up trying to find out what people want as a lot of the time people don’t know what they want. Instead, we’re creating that demand for them.
"We do that by listening for social media trends, such as a popular audio or meme which has gone viral in the public sphere; we then find travel products to fit that trend, curate deals, find a hook to stop people from scrolling and then share real content – not AI generated – so people get an authentic view of what the experience would be like."
He added: “Having a social first strategy is key. Taking your existing brochure content and putting it onto social media is not a good strategy; you need new content specifically designed for social media for it to work.”
Elevate sustainability successes
Cruise lines need to shout louder about their sustainability successes, according to HX Expeditions’ senior vice president and managing director EMEA and ANZ.
Sherborne warned there is some greenwashing in the industry but said it should not detract from the work cruise lines are doing to become more sustainable.
He encouraged agents to share the positive message with their customers, saying it is important to recognise all the good work cruise lines do.
“The world of sustainability is complex and there is a lot of greenwashing out there, so it is important for cruise lines to clearly explain the work we are doing to support the communities we work with,” he said.
“It’s crucial to make sure a sustainability story isn’t just about the stuff coming out of funnel - although we do need to make progress there - it’s about saying that is a priority alongside our other sustainability goals in which we are making huge strides, such as working on new fuels, more use of shore power and the relationships and investments we put into the communities we work with, which I think is so important when travel agents talk to their concerned customers.
“We need to elevate those stories rather than just focus on statistics on emission levels. We are actively supporting scientific study in these parts of the world and being able to demonstrate that altruistic approach, giving back to the places we visit and how we help preserve them, needs to be brought to light.”
Perkins added: “Our guests go on these incredible voyages where they learn from experts and they come back with their own stories about how cruise lines are trying to slow climate change through the research carried out on board, and those stories really resonate with other customers.”
Educating customers
The expedition sector is expanding at unprecedented rates and agents need to ensure they are up to speed to share that knowledge with their customers.
Sherborne highlighted the importance of telling customers exactly what they are going to get when they take an expedition voyage.
“It’s important customers have a good understanding of what to expect before they sail,” he said. “Within expedition cruising, the feedback we get is people’s expectations are almost always exceeded – which I think in part is because they don’t know exactly what they’ll get – but it is important to educate them so that we can grow the sector and there is an associated price and proposition with an expedition sailing.”
He spotlighted Alaska as an example of a destination which can be experienced in both an ocean and expedition cruising capacity, offering two different ways to see a place.
“A lot of people have had amazing experiences in Alaska on a mainstream ocean line, but if they go again on an expedition ship, it’s a completely different experience, which is an amazing opportunity for lines and agents to sell.”
Perkins added: “There’s a great difference between expedition and ocean cruising and to secure those expedition customers, agents must educate them on the amazing things they can expect on a voyage.
Innovation is beneficial to whole industry
Perkins welcomed innovation in the cruise industry, saying advances are advantageous to everyone.
She referenced the partnership between Seabourn and Uniworld, saying it has introduced river cruise guests to ocean travel and vice versa, expanding the cruise market and benefiting the industry as a whole.
She also highlighted the value of hotel brands, such as Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, entering the cruise market which, again, brings a new wave of people into the cruise sector.
Perkins used the term “halo effect” to describe the impact innovation has on the wider industry and encouraged other lines to
"Other lines should replicate what we have done with Uniworld,” she said. “It creates a halo effect: the more lines do to attract new-to-cruise customers and a wider sector of guest, the better it is for all of us and we will all benefit.
“Plus, new hotel groups coming into the market is great because it brings cruise in front of an audience who had never considered cruise before and travel agents can then show them options that might suit them even better.”
