January 2012 Wave Season Trends Welcome to the January edition of
TRAVEL GUARD UPDATE, a monthly review designed to provide you with up-to-date industry information direct from seasoned travel retailers. This month, we'll be exploring wave season predictions and how the Costa Concordia disaster may affect travelers' interest in the cruise season. We'll also explain how a travel insurance plan may be helpful to have during a cruise emergency and share how a travel insurance plan came to the rescue when a medical emergency struck aboard a cruise ship.
Travel Guard invites your comments and suggestions on any areas you'd like to see covered in this regular update. E-mail your thoughts to us at
klamourt@mmgyglobal.com. For more information on our travel insurance programs, please visit
www.TravelGuard.com.
In this month's issue:
PULSE POLL: 2012 WAVE SEASON PREDICTIONSTRAVEL TIP: INSURANCE DURING A CRUISING EMERGENCYEXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: ALL HANDS ON DECK WHEN ILLNESS STRIKES Travel Guard recently polled travel agents to learn more about how they think the Costa Concordia disaster will affect cruising, and to get their predictions for this year's wave season. Results are below.
Costa Concordia: Given the severity of the recent Costa Concordia incident, those within the travel industry are closely watching how it could affect cruise bookings, especially with wave season underway. Overall, 46% of agents polled believe the disaster will not drastically affect the number of cruise bookings in 2012, while just seven percent feel that fewer people will cruise as a result. Nearly half (47%) of agents polled believe that avid cruisers will continue to cruise, but those who have not cruised will strongly consider other types of vacations. Lastly, 37% of those polled believe cruisers will be more apt to purchase travel insurance this year as a result of the incident. *Agents were able to select more than one response.
Wave Season?: With cruise lines now offering attractive deals year-round, only 12% of those polled felt that wave season is still the strongest time of the year for cruise bookings. In fact, 43% of those polled reported that the majority of their clients are no longer waiting until wave season to book a cruise. The remainder (45%) of agents polled believe an increasing number of clients are booking throughout the year.
River Madness Trend: Riverboat cruising is continuing to grow in popularity worldwide, from the traditional European itineraries to destinations like West Africa's Gambia River and even closer to home on the Mississippi River. Not surprisingly, 50% of respondents believe river cruising will be the biggest trend of 2012. Other cruising trends that agents feel will be significant this year include the continued increase in onboard fees (21%), a younger demographic booking cruises (13%) and theme cruises (9%). Hot Destinations: With winter finally setting in across much of the U.S., cruisers' destination of choice is still overwhelmingly the Caribbean, according to 53% of agents polled. Europe came in second at 25%, followed by Alaska (15%) and the South Pacific (2%).
Hiking up the Fees: Many cruise lines significantly increased onboard fees this season, resulting in 34% of agents polled predicting cruisers will spend more time trying to find the best deal to mitigate the increases. In addition, 23% of agents polled believe cruisers will think twice before booking onboard activities and dining at alternative restaurants, while 28% believe cruisers will opt to book with lines that have not raised onboard fees. Only 15% of agents polled believe this trend will not affect purchase decisions. No Mega-News: Over the past few years, the launch of new megaships generated a great deal of excitement about cruising; however, in 2012, no new megaships have been announced as taking to the sea. Despite this, 53% of agents polled believe megaships will continue to attract travelers new to cruising, while avid cruisers will consider their cruising options more carefully. Additionally, 20% of agents polled believe the lack of megaships debuting this year will have minimal affect on bookings overall, 13% believe interest in megaships will begin to wane and 10% believe overall interest in megaships will continue to be high.
The Unexpected: As the Costa Concordia disaster demonstrated, there are many reasons to purchase travel insurance when booking a cruise. However, an overwhelming 88% of agents polled feel that an unforeseen illness that could affect travel plans is the top reason clients should purchase insurance for a cruise.
TRAVEL TIP: INSURANCE DURING A CRUISING EMERGENCY While cruise disasters are rare and unlikely, the Costa Concordia incident serves as a reminder that travel is unpredictable. From inclement weather affecting flights to and from the point of departure to unforeseen illness and lost luggage, an array of mishaps can occur while cruising, making planning for the unexpected all the more important.
Travel Guard's insurance plans cover many unforeseen circumstances that could force a traveler to cancel, interrupt or delay their trip, and also feature 24/7 emergency assistance to help travelers should their cruise go awry. In a scenario like the tragic Costa Concordia incident, Travel Guard's 24/7 emergency assistance can help with replacing lost travel documents, personal identification, relaying messages back home, locating an English speaking doctor and even assisting with new travel arrangements back home.
For the complete line of travel insurance plan and assistance services, visit
www.TravelGuard.com.
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS: ALL HANDS ON DECK WHEN ILLNESS STRIKES Avid travelers Charlotte and John M. of Brooklyn, N.Y. had been looking forward to their Mediterranean cruise for months and were enjoying every moment exploring the history and extraordinary sights of Monte Carlo, Liverno, Civitavecchia, Messina, Nafplion, Katakolon and Corfu.
Then, one night at sea, John awoke unable to breathe. Charlotte promptly called the ship's nurse, who immediately transported John to the medical suite and later to a local hospital on the island of Corfu, Greece.
Luckily, the couple had purchased travel insurance through Travel Guard, who coordinated efforts to fly John to a larger hospital in Athens and worked with their primary health insurance provider to keep them updated on their medical coverage. When John was ready to fly home, Travel Guard secured their plane tickets home, located a doctor to travel with them and offered to provide assistance upon arrival.
"Travel Guard was there for us every step of the way,” Charlotte said. "I will be eternally grateful for their kindness, concern and the professional expertise they demonstrated throughout this emergency.”