Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/280564
B M & T ••• January/February 2014 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 24 T he cruise industry is the fastest growing segment in travel and tourism with demand outstrip- ping supply across all sectors. Despite the negative press following the Carnival and Royal Caribbean fiascos, the popu- larity of cruising doesn't appear to be waning. An emerging sector within the cruise industry is conferences at sea. Today's ships have meeting venues galore with all the latest in audio/video equipment to fit the needs of any meeting planner. Industry experts estimate cruise con- ferences are 25 to 40 percent less expen- sive than their land-based counterparts. There are lots of reasons for such tremendous cost savings. Meeting planners know all too well the headaches associated with negotiat- ing every last nickel and dime with a hotel. If you host an event at a hotel, every- thing costs – meeting rooms, food, enter- tainment, audio/visual equipment, taxes, gratuities, complimentary activities for family and room service. On a cruise ship all of these items are included. Here are specific areas of savings on a cruise ship. Let's start with conference rooms: at top hotels and convention cen- ters, booking a large conference room or small meeting room can cost thousands of dollars. On cruise ships these are free. Plus, with proper planning you can also book event space in many of the ships public places – more on that in a moment. Almost all standard audio/visual equipment on a cruise ship is free. If you have any special audio/visual needs, that might at most cost a few extra hundred dollars, but that's it. How many of you haggle with a hotel property over food and beverage costs? Trying to balance F & B costs with hotel rates, and conference center rentals requires a degree in accounting. And in an improving economy, negotiating F&B, or any costs with a hotel is increas- ingly difficult. On a cruise ship all of this goes away. Meeting planners spend an inordinate amount of time planning down time activities for those land-base events. That might involve arranging transporta- tion to an offsite venue, tickets and more. On a cruise ship everything is right there for the taking, whether you customize an activity or have attendees go it alone. Another cruise ship advantage is itin- erary. Whether you go on a 3-, 4-, 5- or 7- day cruise, pulling into a different port daily or every other day allows your attendees to experience different cul- tures and activities unavailable in a tradi- tional land-based event. The cruise industry is experiencing unprecedented growth. During the 1980s about 40 new ships were commis- sion according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). As demand increased so did the num- ber of ships being built. Between 2000 and 2013, 167 new ships were commis- sioned. These mega ships were floating resorts on the high seas led by Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas and Oasis of the Seas, each holding 6,296 passenger and crew. CLIA forecast 21.7 million passen- gers will set sail in 2014, with 55 percent of that total coming from the North American market, by far the world's most active. To accommodate this ever-increasing demand of life on the high seas 24 new ships will come online in 2014-2015. Fueling this growth according to CLIA members are first-time passengers from the younger generations, especially Millennials. Increased use of technology CRUISE CONFERENCES: ARE THEY CO$T EFFECTIVE? BY MICHAEL BENNETT Allure of the Seas •pg_22-32__BMT_pg3-58 2/27/14 4:15 PM Page 24