Cruises on luxury ships to the Caribbean or the Mediterranean were the Romanian tourists’ main discovery last year.
Travel agencies selling such packages saw their number of customers double, while multinational companies have started sending their employees on such vacations, as a reward for their activities during the year.
“Last year, we sold 380 luxury cruises, after in 2003 we had sold 130. Luxury cruises witnessed the highest growth among our company’s offers”, said Nicolae Demetriade, chairman of Happy Tour, one of the top tour-operators on the Romanian market, whose turnover reached 23 million euros last year, over 30% higher year-on-year.
Contrary to the general opinion including them in the category of exclusive products, luxury cruises are also destined to average-income tourists. This happens as tariffs very much depend on the location of rooms inside the ship, as well as on the moment bookings are made, with the possibility of acquiring a one-week trip at a price of 1,200 euros, too, half the normal price.
“In the case of a simple room inside the ship, without a porthole and a terrace, the price may stand at 500-600 euros per person, in a double room, for a week, three times less than the price for a room with a porthole and a terrace. One must also add the flight to Miami harbour, worth 500 euros”, Demetriade said.
Multinationals last year started sending their employees on luxury cruises, in the form of incentive trips.
georgiana.stavarache@zf.ro