CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – April 25, 2022— Earlier this year, Cruise Planners CEO and Founder Michelle Fee deemed 2023 the “Year of Travel” and judging by the robust and strong wave season that just wrapped up, 2023 is set to be the “Year of Travel and BEYOND”. According to the company, 2023 departures are up 22% over the full year of 2019 and 13% up over the full year of 2022. Cruise Planners is currently pacing at 73% ahead of 2022 in purchases, and although the timeframe coincides with the effects of the Omicron variant from early 2022, the company does expect this number to decrease but notes the expectation is to still finish the year incredibly strong and well above 2022.
Nearly 50% of the weekly bookings are for 2024 Departures, meaning the demand for travel extends to the year ahead which allows Cruise Planners to be set for another strong year in 2024. These numbers are exciting, considering the setback of the last few years, and Cruise Planners advisors are busy booking quality trips and vacations for their clients.
“What a year it’s been so far, and I mean that in the best possible way,” said Fee. “It’s been heartwarming to see our advisors going full speed ahead and it doesn’t look like they’re stopping anytime soon. We couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2023!”
In addition to these astounding numbers, Cruise Planners already has a 20% increase in the number of franchises who will be inducted into the Millionaires Club Member tier of sales ($1 million+ in total sales volume) and are on pace to end the year at 50% more set to join this prestigious club in 2024. This bodes well for the industry and the company as a whole, as advisors are building strong, sustainable travel businesses.
Cruise Planners recently was awarded Celebrity Cruises highest honor, the Chairman’s Award and was named by Franchise Business Review as a 2023 Top Low-Cost Franchises and Top 50 Franchises for Women. Allianz also honored Cruise Planners as a top partner for 2022, and Entrepreneur Magazine noted Cruise Planners 22 years of being on the Franchise 500 list.