Azamara boss ‘encouraged’ by sales recovery after Iran war dip

Azamara Cruises’ chief executive has reported a gradual increase in bookings since the start of the conflict in the Middle East as she hailed the line’s “resilient” trade partners who have helped to spur sales.

The business has introduced a 50% reduced deposit offer, an extended 30-day window to make final payments and boosted UK agent rewards during April to try and stimulate demand since the start of the conflict on February 28.

Speaking to Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief of Aspire’s sister title Travel Weekly, on board Azamara Quest during a Clia Masterclass, Dondra Ritzenthaler said she has been “encouraged” by how bookings have bounced back after an initial drop at the beginning of the conflict as she promised to “continue to listen to travel advisors and customers” to maintain the upward trajectory.

On the sailing from Lisbon to Seville, Ritzenthaler said: “When the conflict started, we saw a drop in our business, no question.

“It was about a two-week drop, but then we started to see it come back and it was really when the news came out that President Trump was in talks with Iran when we saw the business come back, and so it has now stayed stable.”

However, Ritzenthaler described rising fuel prices as “an issue” which the company was “watching every day”.

She said an initial reduction in fuel prices following the announcement of the ceasefire on Tuesday was good for consumers, the industry and the cruise line, though prices remain volatile.

Ritzenthaler pledged the business will “act accordingly” and “be flexible” regarding future developments, and while the line has not yet had to make itinerary changes, she is “very confident” in the fleet’s “ability to pivot”.

Chief international sales officer David Siewers said the line would be “flexible as long as we need to” and “listen to travel partners” regarding extending deals or making other changes to encourage bookings.

“Everyone still wants to travel and I think as this all comes to a close, they’re going to want to travel even more,” Siewers said. “But they just want that confidence to make the commitment for it.”

He highlighted there would be “more opportunities” for UK travel agents to sell European voyages as US and Australian consumers could be more “reluctant” to travel.

“We are going to be leaning a little bit closer as there will be more opportunities for them [UK agents] to book,” he said.

He said the brand is “hugely committed” to UK agents with 90% of the line’s bookings in the market coming from the trade.

As a sign of its commitment to the UK, Siewers pointed to Azamara moving into its new Woking head office, which is 60% larger than its previous UK headquarters.

The new office will enable operations, sales and other teams to work alongside the UK-based contact centre, which he said will help speed up responses to agent queries.