Travel agents will, for the first time, earn commission on destination experiences they sell for Explora Journeys, the cruise line announced during a panel discussion held on board Explora III last week.
“I’m very happy to announce, for the first time, that we will be offering commission on Destination Experience sales going forward,” said Justin Poulsen, Explora Journeys’ Head of Itinerary Planning, Destination Experiences and Ground Handling.
Agents will earn 10% commission on all Destination Experiences booked before departure, including half-day and full-day excursions, Chris Austin, President of Explora Journeys North America, told Travel News on the sidelines.
The change is intended to encourage advisors to include destination experiences when planning clients’ journeys.
“We see that many of our guests who book their journey with a travel agent then book their destination experiences on their own. When they do that, it’s a lower average package amount than when they’re assisted by the travel agent,” Poulsen said.
Explora currently sells about 80% of its destination experiences pre-departure. It wants to increase this to 90%.
“We want to engage the travel advisor community more in helping guests book their destination experiences and explaining why they might want to choose a higher-value, small-group experience that is curated, themed and led by a guide,” Poulsen said.
“Help your clients choose the right experiences. We hope they will choose experiences that are more curated, private and bespoke, which we know often leads to greater satisfaction and better reviews.”
Booking through the cruise line also means Explora can better manage disruptions. “We want to take care of them without you having to be on the phone if the ship is late, there is traffic or we change the port at the last minute. We handle all of that,” he said.
Explora Journeys is the luxury ocean travel brand of MSC Group. Travel News joined a hosted preview voyage for media and travel advisors aboard Explora III, sailing from Civitavecchia to Barcelona ahead of the ship’s official naming ceremony on August 1.
