To Whom It May Concern:
We came across this information in the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well.
Happy sailing,
John Sisker, SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at (800) 724-6644 & (pagoo ID: 714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com
Worldspan is helping travel agencies build revenues through the new
Worldspan Cruise online booking tool.
By logging on to www.worldspancruise.com, Worldspan travel agents gain a
real-time connection to leading cruise and tour operators through Viewdata
booking systems and call centres worldwide for current availability,
bookings and instant confirmations. Worldspan Cruise was developed to
interface seamlessly with the renowned TravelTradeX cruise shopping and
booking platform, which links to the internal reservation systems of an
influential and growing line-up of cruise and tour operators.
Worldspan Cruise is available free of charge to Worldspan travel agencies in
the UK. "This excellent product is the result of intensive consultations
with leading cruise and tour operators, trade associations, cruise
specialist travel agents and TravelTradeX, which runs under the Association
of British Travel Agents (ABTA)," said Graham Nichols, Worldspan vice
president and general manager - EMEAA. "By extending this superior
industry-wide service to all Worldspan agents, we are helping our agency
partners create new revenue streams, while supporting the industry's goal of
continued innovation and investment in cruise marketing." According to the
Passenger Shipping Association's (PSA) Annual Cruise Review last year, 1.25
million British holidaymakers were expected to take an ocean cruise by the
end of 2006.
The data represents a 17 percent increase and the most successful year in
the UK cruise market since 2003. The Review also projected 1.5 million
British travellers would take a cruise by 2008. Market demand is already
being met with increased concentration of ships and passenger capacity
targeted at the UK market.
Currently, cruise lines and tour operators bookable through Worldspan Cruise
include Celebrity Cruises, Cosmos, Cunard, Fred Olsen, Kuoni, Longwood
Holidays, Ocean Villages Holidays, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal
Caribbean International and Somak. Approximately 13 additional cruise lines
and tour operators will be introduced through the system in the near future.
Travel agents are free to shop and book cruises from any Internet location.
No new hardware or software is required. Agents are greeted at
www.worldspancruise.com by a graphical user interface (GUI) and easy,
point-and-click functionality that lets them master the system in less than
15 minutes. Agents have the flexibility to shop by cruise line, tour
operator or destination, and information is plentiful, providing cruise line
details, product descriptions, complete itineraries, cabin photos, supplier
specials and more. Travel agent commissions are paid directly by the cruise
or tour operator.
TravelTradeX is the tour-operator-facing part of the British Travel Agents'
Accommodation Register, an industry joint venture which runs under ABTA, the
British Hospitality Association (BHA) and National Tourist Boards,
developing databases and booking systems for the UK travel industry.
eTN (TravelWireNews)
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