Cruise staff urged to take part in research to help boost sales

A university researcher is calling on cruise operators and agents to take part in a study on the most effective ways to communicate with passengers in the Covid-19 era in order to boost sales.

Senior teaching fellow Liz Sharples, of the University of Portsmouth, who has previously worked at British Airways, P&O Cruises, Thomas Cook and Thomson, is looking to interview cruise specialists, from tour operators or agencies, as well as passengers who have had their cruise holiday cancelled due to the pandemic.

Sharples is hoping to interview around 20 cruise industry staff and 20 passengers and has urged anyone interested to get in touch by the end of October. Interviews will be on Zoom and take 40 minutes.

She said: “I would really appreciate elite cruise practitioners and passengers who have had their trips cancelled to get in touch. Your input and comments will really help inform this research.

“I am ex-industry and passionate about this sector and hope that this work, which looks the most effective messages to help boost sales in the Covid-19 era, will play a small part in helping to rebuild the cruise sector.”

She is hopeful her research will be used by ocean and river cruise lines in their passenger communication strategies to help ensure they use the right tone and get across the key messages that passengers want to hear. These could include reassurance, safety, what happens if they fall ill and the fact they can still have fun by in a safe environment.

The research is split into two parts, the first of which is asking agents, head of sales, managing directors, cruise business owners what their key messages are and how they plan to change this in the Covid-19 era.

She added: “I hope the research will provide cruise lines with clear detail on what communication strategies their passengers want and how it compares to their current Covid-19 approach.

“I hope it will boost cruise lines’ sales by helping to ensure that the messages being sent by cruise lines are what their passengers want and need to help them rebook and re-engage with the sector.”