18 months later, Kollar attended Singapore Tourism Board’s second India Cruise Forum Thursday offering Indian travel agents CLIA accreditation, aimed at educating Indian cruise sellers with the finer techniques of selling cruise holidays and running an introductory workshop.
Annie Chang, director, cruise, STB, told travel agents present that STB’s would like to support them as much as possible - through travel agent FAMs to experience sailing and the destinations, trade events - and has now brought in CLIA, to help them market cruise.
She said STB having worked with India over the years, understood India and was helping CLIA customize material for its cruise market.
‘At your doorstep you have Singapore,’ advised Koller. ‘There is a high number of flights to Singapore from Indian cities and there are increasing number of cruise vessels cruising out of there.’
Cruise lines seeing the potential will add even more ships, he predicted. The travel agent has the power to increase the cruise market and they have to be empowered. 'The travel agents are the ones who can convince new people to cruise,’ he told delegates.
Travel veteran Arvind Tandon, director of Ark Travels applauded the CLIA initiative facilitated by STB.
Kollar sketched a quick picture of how the global cruise industry was showing strong growth: ‘Amazing innovations are coming to us with amazing speed. Just last week Celebrity announced their magic carpet.’
Comprehensive knowledge of the product and trends are needed to sell cruise, he told his audience of 100 Indian travel agents.
He said CLIA would be offering them basic to advanced level training programmes, backed by online videos, quizzes, games, material – and exams. This could culminate in a Masters programme done an onboard a vessel, when agents were ready to become ‘owners and managers’, he concluded.
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