Tom Stieghorst
Are those storm clouds gathering on the horizon? Not at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, apparently.
Economists and market watchers have been fretting in recent months about the end of the near-record expansion that began in 2009.
With interest rates rising, home sales flagging, and inflation poised to increase, fears of recession in 2019 are growing.
So the optimism reflected in the commentary issued by Frank Del Rio, CEO of NCLH, in delivering third quarter results to Wall Street, makes for fascinating reading and can only be encouraging to travel agents.
Del Rio said that far from cooling off, Norwegian's business is hotter than ever. A booking curve that was already strong has lengthened further, he said.
"Overall, our 2019 booked position remains well ahead of this year's record levels in occupancy and pricing across all three brands with advanced ticket sales up 24% year-over-year on an 8% increase in capacity," he said.
Del Rio said the strong demand environment was led by "a banner year of travel from the new world to the old." He called the second consecutive year of strong European bookings by North Americans "a pleasant surprise." At the same time, he said Norwegian was able to attract "a higher caliber European consumer" at higher prices "The result is a second consecutive year of double-digit pricing growth for the all-important Europe season."
But it was consumer demand that Del Rio was most enthused about.
"The continued elongated booking curve confirms that customers are willing to book further out than ever before and commit to big ticket discretionary purchases months and even years in advance," he said.
Combined with higher levels of onboard spending, "we get a clear picture of a consumer that is both confident today and confident of what their financial situation will be in the future," Del Rio said.
Not every economist is so sunny about the consumer's continued buoyancy in 2019. But if the view from the corner office at Norwegian is correct, it is going to be another robust year for cruise lines and travel agents.