Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines to Abolish 5% Online Booking Discount

Ipswich, United Kingdom, February 03, 2012 --(PR.com)-- With effect from the publication of the "Fred. Olsen Cruises Worldwide 2013 Preview Brochure," due out in February 2012, this discount will be removed on all cruises contained within this brochure, and all future brochures.

Nathan Philpot, Sales and Marketing Director for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

“In line with our proposal to end retail discounting and increase profits for agents, we will be removing the 5% online booking discount from our website with the publication of our next brochure. We would like to be in a position where ‘the price you see is the price you get’, and is the same wherever you see it, and this will help to ensure a level playing field for all our travel trade partners.

“This decision demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the trade, whilst continuing to give our customers the widest possible range of options for booking their cruise holidays with Fred. Olsen.”

This initiative forms part of a marketing push in 2012, which has seen a significant investment by Fred. Olsen to create demand and drive customers into agents’ shops and onto agents’ phones. Fred. Olsen has welcomed an encouraging uplift in bookings in early 2012 as a result of this increased brand awareness, which has included a prominent TV campaign, millions of inserts in the national press, and over a million brochures and direct mail pieces produced and mailed for agents.

This year has also seen the first-ever title sponsorship of the "World Indoor Bowls Championships." The "Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines 2012 World Indoor Bowls Championships" commenced on 13th January 2012 and ran until 29th January 2012 inclusive, with live coverage on the BBC, as well as international exposure on Eurosport and Sky TV. Last year, the event was seen by nearly five million TV viewers worldwide.

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