Cruise Planners Conference: Booking and Sales Trends

Second quarter 2017 advance bookings are up 45 percent, year over year. // Photo by Susan J. Young

This is Part One of a three-part series on the Cruise Planners Conference. Stay tuned for additional updates today and tomorrow. 

Cruise Planners agents who have been with the franchise agency group for more than three years book an average of $747,000 of travel per year. That's up from $620,000 last year and $524,000 the year before.  

Those were among the many statistics provided to CP agents attending the franchise agency organization's 2016 annual conference -- themed "I am CP" -- at Miami's Intercontinental Hotel.

Approximately 66 percent of all CP sales are cruises, while 24 percent are land vacations. The remainder of sales are for ancillary products and travel insurance. 

Another trend? This year CP travel agents have successfully "front loaded" 2017 bookings, a positive sign for future business performance. 

For example, for the first quarter of 2017, bookings have increased, year over year for the same quarter, by 41 percent. For the second quarter 2017, those advance cruise bookings are up 45 percent. 

Business for CP agencies is split between 66 percent cruise, 24 percent land and tours and 10 percent ancillary services and travel insurance. // Photo by Susan J. Young

Interestingly, while future sales on the books are much higher year-over-year, the split of business between cruise and land was just about the same year-over-year. See graphic above, which is virtually identical to what it was in 2015. 

The Cruise Planners conference continues this week, as most conference attendees will board Royal Caribean International's Harmony of the Seas for a preview cruise, sailing on Tuesday, November 8.

Stay tuned to www.travelagentcentral.com for the latest news from this year's event.