MSC Cruises: Looking for More U.S. Biz
by Andrew Sheivachman /While MSC Cruises has maintained a presence in North America for ten years, the company now wants to garner greater awareness with the hope of attracting more U.S. passengers.
MSC, an Italian company, recently announced the addition of at least four new vessels to its 12-ship fleet. It also brought the MSC Divina to the Caribbean last year.
Travel Market Report spoke with MSC Cruises U.S.A. president Richard Sasso to find out more about the line’s expansion plans and why travel agents should learn more about the brand.
MSC recently announced it will build two new ships to complement two other vessels it has on order. How does this expansion tie into the company’s plan for growth?
Sasso: Technically we have the option to deliver seven new ships over the next five years. We’ve already grown the fastest of any cruise line in the last decade, 640% from 5,000 berths to 39,000.
We are the number one brand in Europe, the Mediterranean and also South America. We are looking to become more prominent in North America and other emerging markets. There aren’t many places in the world that aren’t on our radar.
Are any of the new ships coming to the U.S.?
Sasso: We look forward to doing more in North America but I can’t say where the new ships are going to deploy. North America is the largest producing market for cruise passengers at large. This is a very fertile ground we can tap into more aggressively. It’s not just about another ship in the Caribbean, it’s about doubling our market penetration.
Are high airfares still deterring U.S. travelers from cruising in Europe?
Sasso: Right now the airfares have stabilized, so people know what to expect when they buy international air. What is significant is that we have also seen interest from North Americans who want to go to Europe and cruise on our vessels.
Here the Caribbean is a little soft, but the pace of bookings for cruising the Med and Baltics, for instance, is at an all time high. This is a great opportunity to get North Americans to choose us when they want to cruise.
What are you doing to develop your brand in the crowded U.S. market?
Sasso: The Divina put a spotlight on us as we look more towards North America. We’ve doubled our sales force size so there are many more people on the ground. We have a strategic vision here now that we’ve seen the success of Divina and our reputation with travel agents is starting to strengthen.
How important are travel agents to your growth? You recently announced a 5% commission on all pre-paid onboard purchases.
Sasso: To an emerging brand like us, we need need to make sure we are the best partner for our travel agent friends. We have always tried to pay them a complimentary commission and now are giving them the ability to earn commission on some pre-booked items.
Given that agents want to earn more by selling more, we thought we should make a much more robust arrangement for them. We believe agents deserve their compensation so we said let’s make everything commissionable. They are our ambassadors.
If agents aren’t familiar with MSC Cruises, what should they know?
Sasso: Agents should know two things. We are the fastest growing cruise brand in the world and we’re building more so we are going to have product available going forward. We also have the youngest fleet in the industry. They should also know that we have ships where people want to cruise and we have a strong commercial arrangement with agents for them to support us.
Is the lack of awareness from U.S. consumers a major concern?
Sasso: Certainly in the U.S. there is a need to grow awareness. In other parts of the world, people think of us more often than other lines. We have slowly started to introduce ourselves here and have been refining the product so intensely that we are seeing cruisers impressed with us. Improving the product is something we have focused on.
This is why we rely on travel agents. We could never do this by ourselves. Other brands may think they can, with their tenure or awareness, but we put our faith in the travel agent community. We want to make sure they are fully informed, compensated and respected. That will be the trigger to get the consumer awareness.