Vicky Garcia, COO of Cruise Planners, Highlights Travel Trends at Seatrade Cruise Global

In the changing landscape of family travel, Vicky Garcia knows what it takes to satisfy travelers of all ages.

As the world’s largest gathering for the cruise industry, Seatrade Cruise Global united more than 11,000 travel industry professionals, 700 exhibitors and 70 cruise line brands. With the 2019 event being the biggest Seatrade Cruise Global to date, Cruise Planners’ COO, Vicky Garcia, offered her expertise on up-and-coming travel trends as a panelist at the convention.

Divided into two parts, the session broke down “The Future Outlook for Family Cruising” and “Millennials and Cruising.” On the topic of family travel, Vicky mentioned the importance in catering to children and teens, especially in the growing digital age where cutting-edge technology on vacation is expected.

“Family travel is not just going to Disney World and eating ice cream. Kids are growing up differently,” Vicky said. “It’s more of having to sell what your customer wants or what they’re used to having.”

Vicky also spoke to the relationship Millennials have with traveling and social media, noting that they want “Instagrammable” moments.

“Millennials love shallow pools so they can sit around sipping a cocktail. They’re foodies, they want gastronomy, they want craft cocktails,” Vicky said. “They don’t want it to be the old-style cruising, they want new experiences.”

Other topics during the panel covered traveling for homeschooled children, “skip-gen” vacationing, family-focused river cruise trips, immersive experiences and more.

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