As many of you know, yesterday was the annual Abilene Expo down at the Civic Center where around 175-200 business in town set up booths to introduce their products and services as well as network with other business in our city regarding keeping our economy in the Big Country vibrant and alive.
The Travel Factory has had a presence at the Expo ever since they started this initiative many years ago. We get the chance to visit with fellow business persons and clients as well as meet new ones. . .and yesterday was no exception. Also got the chance to educate many who came by our booth to pick up brochures about the value that a travel agency brings to the community. Several indicated that they just like to explore the various opportunities for vacation on-line, and I told them that is a great exercise, but instead of hitting that submit button that sends all their money out of Abilene, consider giving us a call about what they had found and we can, in more cases than not, get the very same price they were able to find. As a result of that action, we get to keep some of that money they are spending for their vacation right here in Abilene. . . .because from the commission we receive from the sale, we pay rent, we pay for phone and electricity, we pay salary which continues to circulate that commission as our employees purchase groceries, tires, gasoline, and homes in our community. No doubt, there are thousands of dollars lost from the local economy by individuals purchasing their vacations on-line with all that money going out of our state or to some other vacation base other than Abilene.
The main question I received by visitors to our booth yesterday regarded the negative publicity that Carnival Cruise Line has received because of the engine room problems of 4 of their ships in recent weeks. There is no question that their image has been stained by these malfunctions and the interruptions of thousands of vacations, many planned many months in advance.
Carnival Chairman Micky Arison sought to put the problems in perspective saying that on a base of 4.4 million passengers that Carnival carries each year, they report back a 98-99% satisfaction factor. He indicated that they did suffer a double-digit decline in bookings immediately after the Triumph fire, but there were few outright cancellations, and the price promotions they put in have worked to restore interest.
The price promotion was a “friends and family” discount, up to $600. It not only prompted additional new sales, it also helped those who had previously booked. We had clients who experienced over $1200 savings on a booking we had made a month or so ago. The biggest problem was getting through to Carnival to secure the transaction; 1-2 hour hold time was commonplace.
As I told folks yesterday, good cruise vacations at good prices will bring travelers back to Carnival, and time seems to heal many memories of the negative. The experienced and professional travel agents at The Travel Factory are eager and ready to help you manufacture the vacation of your dreams so give us a call at 698-1421 or toll-free 800-760-4040. We’d love to help you make some forever memories.