Priscilla Reyes is head of sales for North America at Costa Cruises, which recently revamped its digital resources for travel advisors. Reyes spoke with cruise editor Teri West about how she intends to draw more North American travelers to the Italy-based cruise line.
Priscilla Reyes
Q: What are your goals for the North American market? Where does Costa hope to be in that regard five years from now?
A: I'm very ambitious, so I would love to say that we'd be one of the top markets producing for Costa, but it's very hard to reach those goals not having ships in our backyard. I think that's a big challenge for us. Italy, Spain and France are still going to be the top markets selling our product. They have ships there year round. We're so well known there. We have general marketing there. I would say for us to increase our North American sales 20% every year consistently for the next five years, that would be a score.
That would be a huge undertaking but also a huge benefit for Costa because new-to-cruise and people that are really interested in immersive experiences, I think they may not know the full value of the Costa experience. So, I think in the next five years it's about going after those new to cruise, going after those younger audiences.
Q: Who do you see as that younger audience?
A: I think somebody that's 25 that maybe has a somewhat limited budget can really benefit from our great rates, and I think that somebody in their 40s and 50s with a family can also have fun but still offer something for their children to have a really wonderful experience in Europe for a great value. I think it makes sense for both sides of that range. It's a sweet spot where the price is right, the atmosphere is right.
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Q: When considering a Costa cruise, what sort of client should travel advisors have in mind?
A: The travel advisor that finds our product interesting and [a client who] is comfortable in that multicultural environment, that wants to experience these places from the viewpoint of a local, I think those are our greatest allies. Targeting clients who are maybe not new to cruise but maybe new to Europe. You want to experience Europe, and you want to be around Europeans, and you want to hear the languages, and you want to experience the food and you don't want to do it with 5,000 other North Americans. You want to do it with the people that are from that region of the world that can open your eyes to different experiences.
Q: Would you call it a particularly good product for U.S. immigrant families or families with international backgrounds? Are you targeting that demographic?
A: I do feel like families that are multilanguage --they're speaking Spanish at home or Italian or other languages -- they're just a little bit more open to that environment where you're listening to people speak all sorts of languages. It's a little bit more normal for them. So I say that, yes, people in the U.S. that are coming from other countries, I think that's a huge target for us, as well. And we're doing a lot independently, especially here in Miami, being such a big hub for Latin Americans. With our itineraries in the Caribbean, that's my main focus. I think of people that have their families in the Dominican Republic. They're living here, they're raising their kids in Miami, but their family, their grandparents are in the D.R. Why not fly to the D.R., get on a ship, experience our seven nights? I think the proximity of a ship being so close to us, that's also an advantage, and right now, the Caribbean is performing really well for us.
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This interview was edited for length and clarity.