UNITED STATES - Avion Travel Network, a travel agency that specializes in cruises, is redirecting its attention from couples cruises to group cruises. In a recent business strategy discussion with a travel information publisher, the cruise travel agency said the move is timely and allows them to consciously repeat some of their recent group cruise successes.
Avion Travel Network has been operating in the travel industry since 2010, but until recently the majority of their business was made up of couples cruises and small groups of two to four people. Over the past year, the cruise travel agency has managed to book more groups of 20 or more people than they have in the past nine years combined. Agency owner Aubrey Williams credits this success to their ability to tap into the social media scene on the internet.
Roughly 65% of our business over the past year has consisted of Facebook group cruises and cruise groups initiated on the popular social website Meetup.com. Several Facebook group organizers have worked with Avion Travel Network to book group cruise events for their members. Themes so far have included yoga cruises, fitness cruises, LGBT cruises, family reunion cruises, and a Burning Man cruise. Avion Travel Network's self-coined "New To Cruises" are also doing well, with Meetup organizers in many cities bringing new residents together to get to know other people who are also new to their cities. "As a group cruise travel agency, we enjoy working with Facebook organizers to book their events on cruise ships" says Williams. Avion Travel Network is also preferred by Meetup organizers, as they often look for new and unique venues to host their social events.
While the majority of ATN's recent success has consisted of social media organizers, the cruise travel agency is also laying the groundwork to capture more school alumni cruises and family reunion cruises. "The first group we ever booked was a family reunion cruise", recalls Williams. Family reunion cruises are an increasingly popular idea for families, and never fail to miss the mark. ATN has already had repeat business from some of the same families.
Newer to Avion Travel Network is school alumni cruises. ATN stumbled across its first alumni cruise by pure chance, and that was enough to make the agency hungry for more. While alumni cruises are sometimes in the form of class reunion cruises, some happen to be former college students gathering without the typical class reunion format.
Avion Travel Network continues to generate a large share of its business from couples, small groups, and the occasional single cruiser. "We started with couples and singles cruises, so that's a part of who we are" says Williams. "No matter how much we accommodate group cruises, we will always remain loyal to couples and singles."
Tags: Avion Travel Network
