Travel Agent - August 20, 2007 - (Page 22)

Cover Story Continued from page 21 South America, the Galapagos Islands & Antarctica From the Middle East, we travel back westward toward the continent of South America, which has become a muchballyhooed cruising destination over the last year, and both cruise lines and travel agents say it will remain popular next year and beyond. One of the places gaining more cruising attention is the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago just off Ecuador. Hearing the word Galapagos and images of turtles, lizards and a bearded Charles Darwin usually pop up. Cruisers are interested in the endemic species (no offense to Darwin). “We’ve got lots on the books for the Galapagos next year,” says Bon Voyage’s Cooper. “It’s hot. People are thinking of doing it now because there is a sense that there will be a limit on tourism there because of the effects on the islands.” Like the Galapagos, Antarctica, too, is gaining a lot of attention as an area for exploration. Why not? It’s not everyday that you can frolic on the ice with penguins, right? Both these regions are not your regular cruise destinations and, most likely, are for more seasoned cruisers or those travelers who are more interested in learning and nature, than sun and fun. Your best bet is to look at lines such as Lindblad Expeditions (www.expeditions. com), Norwegian Coastal Voyage (www. hurtigruten.us), Hapag-Lloyd (www. hapag-lloyd.com) and Holland America Line (www.hollandamerica.com). The Far East Asia might not strike some as a cruising destination, but if there’s water the cruise lines will be there. One of the best ways to discover Asia is by riverboat, which is a perfect mode for traversing the Yangtze River. Many lines such as Uniworld Grand River Cruises (www. uniworld.com), Avalon Waterways (www. avalonwaterways.com) and Viking River Cruises (www.vikingrivercruises.com) operate itineraries within China. While the riverboats cover the inland of Asia, the bigger cruise lines are also in the act, visiting ports such as Hong Kong, Vietnam and perennial favorites Shanghai and Singapore. Oceania Cruises (www.oceaniacruises.com) had its first season in Asia in 2006 and continues to go back, which Tim Rubacky, Oceania Cruises’ director of corporate communications, says was, at first, a risk. “It was a big gamble on our part to go there because of SARS,” he says. SARS gripped the world between 2002 and 2003 when a reported 774 people died from the respiratory illness, which seemed to have originated in China. Obviously, people were leery to travel to the region, and it carried over well after the outbreak was contained. “I think Asia has been a little slow to take off in our area because the SARS issue received so much attention that the residual effect still hasn’t disappeared,” says World Voyager’s Vaughn. As the stigma continues to dissipate, Asia will become an even stronger cruise destination. Africa Maybe the last place you would think cruising would catch on is Africa, but according to some cruise lines it’s making its way toward the top of the heap. Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius, all located in the Indian Ocean off the mainland of Africa, are three destinations becoming as hot as the sub-Saharan climate. “They are right up there with Dubai,” says Costa’s Rein. The cruise line will begin its inaugural season in the region this November on Costa Marina. “Our travel agents tell us that North Americans want something new and different,” she says. “We want to keep it fresh and exciting.” Others Making The List It would be difficult to include every new hot destination, but some others are worth mentioning. In the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand continue to stay on travel agents’ radars. Making a strong push, says Cruise.com’s Hamawy, is Tahiti for the winter. It’s not surprising that the island paradise draws a lot of cruisers, just not like this. “It caught me by surprise,” he says of bookings. “It’s not a market that spikes so much.” Another trend that is coming on are bookings made on repositioning sailings (cruises in which a ship is redeploying to another region). This fall many cruise ships now in Europe will begin their sojourn to the Caribbean or other warmweather destinations. “For those who enjoy longer cruises, there are repositioning cruises to and from Europe,” says Prestige’s Nissan. Hamawy says these types of cruises are historically soft, “but we are doing well with them.” Silversea Cruises’ Silver Whisper in St. Petersburg, Russia 22 TravelAgent August 20,2007 http://www.expeditions.com http://www.hurtigruten.us http://www.expeditions.com http://www.hurtigruten.us http://www.hapag-lloyd.com http://www.hapag-lloyd.com http://www.hollandamerica.com http://www.uniworld.com http://www.uniworld.com http://www.avalonwaterways.com http://www.avalonwaterways.com http://www.vikingrivercruises.com http://www.oceaniacruises.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Travel Agent - August 20, 2007

Contents Editor's Letter News You Can Use Agenda: Fam Trips, Calendar of Events, Deal of the Week Cover Story: Hot Cruise Ports: 2008 and Beyond Central & South America: Costa Rica’s New Resort Europe: Heathrow Upgrades Hawaii: Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa Caribbean: Westin’s Plans in the D.R. Still on Track Africa: Pacific Delight Tours’ South Africa Itinerary Hotels: West Virginia Icon Gets Makeover Tech Advisor: Search Engine Optimization 101 Spa Luxury Travel Expo Update Advertisers’ Information Classified Marketplace People & Places

Travel Agent - August 20, 2007

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