Cruise-Dependent Travel Agents Seek Alternatives After Another CDC Warning
Photo Credit: Travel advisors are heavily dependent on the sales of cruises Pixabay / Seaq68
Skift Take
Travel agents should've been expecting a development would arise making the sale of cruises difficult since the cruise industry has been so volatile since the start of the pandemic. It's clear to many agents now to find ways to be less dependent on booking cruises.
Many travel advisors viewed the surge in cruise bookings last year as a significant sign that cruises were making a major comeback as large numbers of vaccinated travelers were eager to hop on ships that had been shut down during the height of the pandemic.
But recent Covid outbreaks linked to cruises drove the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions last month to issue a warning for all travelers, regardless of vaccination status, to avoid traveling by cruise ship. That warning has been a driving factor in travel advisors booking much fewer of those enormously lucrative trips despite several agencies' valiant attempts to convince travelers that cruises are safe.
It's also forced travel advisors to focus on avenues other than cruises for sales. Those avenues are on land, not the sea.
"We are seeing a boom in demand for land-based travel to the Caribbean and Mexico," said Sarah Kline, the president
