“It’s in my DNA”: Holland America Line’s VP Sales, North America talks about the cruise line’s 150th, and travel agents

By Vivian Vassos

ONBOARD ROTTERDAM After setting sail from Fort Lauderdale for a 150th anniversary crossing of the Atlantic, Holland America Line’s Rotterdam arrived to great fanfare at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands the same day Holland America Line first began a century and a half ago.

HAL’s pinnacle class flagship and the newest in its fleet played host to the celebrations, including a gala dinner and after-party onboard. Princess Margriet of the Netherlands anointed a specially designed 150th anniversary ship’s bell with Champagne, which will be on permanent display at the hotel. Local dignitaries such as the city’s mayor and top execs from the cruise line, including HAL’s President Gus Antorcha, as well as descendants of the company’s founding family, joined in.

“The celebration of 150 years is about more than our history, it’s about how we are building on the legacy of a great brand to make it relevant for the next 150 years,” said Antorcha. “From those first early days, we built our reputation on the care we provided to every person who stepped on board … whether that person was an immigrant, a titan of industry, a soldier or a vacationer, each of them was treated as though they were a guest in our own home. It is still a hallmark of our brand.”

Rob Coleman, newly appointed VP Sales, North America, has been sailing with HAL with his family since he was a child, “so it’s in my DNA,” he told Travelweek. Although he’s a VP now,

Coleman started with an entry-level job with the cruise line 24 years ago. “I’ve had almost every role in our trade-facing sales organization.” So how will he approach working with agents in Canada?

“We have a team of BDMs there,” says Coleman. “And we now have a senior manager who works with the larger consortia and online agencies for Canada specifically, because it is a unique market.” Coleman will take a deeper dive into how HAL communicates and delivers the tools needed that are distinct for Canadian advisors. “We need to fine-tune it; is what we’re doing working? It is one of our strategic initiatives, to better underpin our efforts in Canada.”

According to Coleman, the line will maintain its customary incentives that are commission-based while fine-tuning; most advisors belong to a homebased network or consortium. “We negotiate with the consortia first, so there’s a trickle down to the individual agent. This is how we deploy the incentives and commissions.”

HAL is also promoting more options for much longer cruises. “It’s a distinction that HAL offers, I think, more than any other mid- or largeship brand,” says Coleman. The cruise line just announced its latest itinerary, the industry’s only Grand Voyage ‘Pole-to-Pole’ roundtrip in 2025. At 133 days, it covers five continents and simultaneously joins the 124-day, six-continent 2025 Grand World Voyage; both depart from a U.S. homeport, in January 2025.

Does Coleman see HAL going the way of the all-inclusive, a trend that’s taking greater hold in the premium category? “Coming out of the pause, our fare structure is really being driven by our ‘Have it All’ option – pricing that includes the beverage package, the WiFi, etc.” On many departures, he notes, more than 50% of HAL’s guests are opting to ‘have it all.’”

And, he adds, “technology is also on our side, with the ability to electronically book a more complex fare – we have figured out how to merchandise and present those opportunities for guests to take advantage of. While before it had different components, now, for advisors, the booking path is clear and it facilitates being able to buy the inclusive (and commissionable) Have it All offering for their clients.”

After a successful GTM in Essen, GNTB looks ahead to Chemnitz for 2024

TORONTO — Riding high after wrapping up a successful 49th Germany Travel Mart (GTM) in Essen, the German National Tourist Board is already looking forward to the 50th GTM, scheduled for April 21 - 23, 2024 in Chemnitz.

Chemnitz, in the German State of Saxony, is known for its museums and award-winning city centre. Chemnitz has also been named European Capital of Culture 2025.

At this year’s GTM in Essen, some 200 German companies from the hotel, transport and leisure industries, Incoming Services, regional tourism organizations as well as approximately 230 buyers from international travel companies and online travel companies took part in GTM to negotiate offers for the coming year. They also used the GNTB’s GTM Networking Tool to arrange 5,300 appointments. Around 100 media also took part in the event.

Tallying this year’s post-event feedback, a very strong 90% of suppliers were satisfied/very satisfied with the way the 2023 GTM took place. The GTM was rated as a good or very good platform for conducting business by 94% of respondents.

The GNTB focused on making this year’s GTM a green event by reducing the carbon footprint and implementing different sustainable measures.

Petra Hedorfer, Chairwoman of the GNTB’s Executive Board, said: “The focal topics placed at the GTM were validated by the positive feedback received from the participants: Sustainability, digital transformation, linking city breaks with rural vacations, climate and environmentally friendly means of transport and extending the length of stay. The positive response to the GTM 2023 is a strong testimony to the position of German incoming tourism in the global competition of destinations.”

The GNTB organized the 49th GTM as a green event. Specific measures to reduce the event’s carbon footprint included, for example, supporting environmentally friendly travel for participants by rail, offsetting the CO2 emissions of all flights, catering as far as possible from regional sources and the use of reusable exhibition furniture and energy-saving event technology.

Trevello’s Connex Conference 2023 gets underway in Cancun

TORONTO — Trevello’s Connex Conference is taking place this week at Breathless Soul Cancun Resort.

This year’s conference will take on the theme of ‘Connex,’ celebrating human connections in the travel industry. Travel advisors and partners will spend their days connecting, learning from each other and sharing insights to further the growth of the travel industry, says Zeina Gedeon, CEO of Trevello Travel Group.

“We are thrilled to host Connex Conference 2023 and bring together some of the best minds in the travel industry. Our theme – Connex

– highlights the importance of human connections, and we look forward to fostering new relationships and strengthening existing ones at this year’s conference,” says Gedeon.

The host sponsor of this year’s conference is Inclusive Collection. Platinum sponsors include Air Canada Vacations, Collette, MSC Cruises and Seabourn.

Granite Travel Trade Expos going national for fall 2023

MISSISSAUGA — The inaugural Granite Travel Trade Expos were a huge hit, with over 325 travel agents attending the Ontario shows last week.

Taking place in Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Mississauga and Barrie, the in-person, high-energy events allowed travel agents to learn updates from 20 top suppliers, including Bahia Principe Hotels and Resorts. St. Kitts Tourism, Manulife, Porter Airliners, Tauck Tours, Expedia TAAP, ATA Airlines and more.

In addition to a trade show, each event included supplier presentations, dinner and prize giveaways.

According to Bradley Dean, Partner, Granite Productions, the Ontario events proved so successful that

Granite Travel Trade Expos will be launching National Expos across Canada in September 2023 in key markets including British Columbia, Ontario and the Maritimes. Dates and locations can be found at granitetravelexpos.com.

“The market has spoken and postCovid in-person events are back,” said Dean. “This series of events has proved that there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction.”

Dean added that the expo series was launched “to bring suppliers to less-serviced key markets in Ontario where agents had expressed a desire for in-person interaction and collaboration with suppliers.”

As supplier events typically occur in major city centres, regional travel agents are often required to “commit hours to travelling,” resulting in the “opportunity loss in such a busy post-market climate,” said Dean. With this in mind, Granite Travel Trade Expos provided a $20 gas card to all travel agents attending the presentation series in each city to help off-set expenses.