Globus's Phil Shipman: 'River cruise is tricky for agents to grasp'
Harry KembleIt’s with the kind of refreshing honesty you might expect from someone taking the first steps in travel that Globus’ UK sales director Phil Shipman concedes: ’When I joined the company 12 months ago, my eyes were opened."
Shipman’s no novice though. But while his travel career has now entered its third decade, he’s not been afraid to make some bold changes over the past year despite being a relative newcomer to the river cruise sector.
Shortly after starting at Globus UK, he decided to segment the group’s trade sales team to ensure agents have “exactly what they need” to sell the Globus’ cruising and touring products.
This meant in April appointing former Cosmos Tours business development manager Kelly Calver to support agents selling Globus’ river cruise brand, Avalon Waterways.
More recently, in early August, Avalon Waterways launched flight inclusive pricing for 2025 – its earliest ever launch in the UK – while any agent who makes an Avalon booking for 2025 before November will be entered into a prize draw to win a seven-night cruise with flights.
In addition, up to 50 agents will join Avalon’s first fam trip programme since 2020 this autumn, with the line also hoping to launch its revamped trade portal, the Globus Family of Brands – University, around the same time.
Different concept
So what surprised Shipman the most when he first boarded an Avalon ship in December? “I didn’t realise there was so much choice with river cruising,” he explains. “It’s such a different concept to anything I had experienced before.
"It’s essentially a touring holiday, but you take the hotel with you. There are different times in the year when you can go too which I didn’t realise before.”
Before joining Globus, Shipman held roles including head of sales north at Classic Collection, business development manager positions at Sani and Ikos Resorts, and key account manager at G Touring.
Shipman insists his lack of river cruise knowledge doesn’t hinder him before pointing out he’s not alone when it comes to lacking experience of the sector.
"You only need to look at the Clia RiverView Conference in Amsterdam [in March] – the number of delegates who had not stepped on board a river ship was staggering,” Shipman continues.
It was this takeaway, in particular, that prompted him to revive Avalon’s fam programme and introduce an unofficial ship visit programme where head office staff at agencies can request tours with Shipman and his team.
Sales ’a mixed bag’
Shipman speaks to TTG the day before he takes a small group of agents to Amsterdam for the day. “If agents have not been onboard, it’s quite difficult for them to get their head around [the product],” he adds. “They’ll wonder, ’how does that work?’, so we need to get them on it.
"This is a quick day trip for agents so they get a feel for river cruise. It’s easy for us to do – a 45-minute flight to Amsterdam.”
Away from boosting agents’ knowledge of Avalon’s 16-ship river fleet, Shipman wants to extend the booking curve in the UK. “A river cruise booking is far more considered in the US, Canada and Australia,” he says.
“Customers book 18 months out. In the UK, it’s a completely mixed bag. We’re seeing sales come in for September next year while we’re still picking up bookings for October 2024.”
Shipman admits Avalon discounted in the immediate post-Covid period, which he believes may have encouraged British customer to bide their time. “As we have moved through this season, we’ve not discounted,” Shipman continues. “We’re now very happy with the load factors so we’ve not had to.”
For someone who sailed on an Avalon ship for the first time in December, agents can rest assured Shipman no doubt has a greater grasp of the sector than perhaps he lets on.
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Harry Kemble
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