Alan Lam reporting

From 5th to 11th of October, six major cruise brands operating in the Spanish market will make available to their customers various discounts, special promotions and competitive offers via CLIA Spain website.

For the first time in its brief history, CLIA Spain will roll out the so-called “Vente de crucero” campaign, which is known in other European markets as “CLIA Cruise Week. The objective of this exercise is to promote a greater awareness among the Spanish population in general “the offers, experiences and itineraries” of this form of holidaying, which is so far enjoyed by about half a million Spaniards each years.

During the week, potential cruise customers will be able to benefit from special promotions and discounts by visiting CLIA Spain website and make bookings “under conditions very advantageous over offers by any travel agents”.

“We are very proud to launch in our country an initiative that has been, for years, proven to be successful in other markets such as those in the USA, Australia, the UK and France,” said Alfredo Serrano, Director of CLIA Spain. “With this move we hope to bring cruises closer to the public so that they may be able to enjoy the variety of possibilities and services the industry has to offer.”

“Vente de crucero” is exclusively an online campaign, participated and endorsed by Costa Crociere, CroisiEurope, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Pullmantur, and Royal Caribbean International. It is a heavily social media oriented initiative, developed by Ontwice, involving YouTube and Twitter, with hashtag #Ventedecrucero. The move is quite a departure from CLIA’s usual travel agent focused strategy.