An Unique Interview with Akansha Agarwal, Co-Founder & CMO at Int2Cruises, Asia’s cruise-first OTA
In an unique interview with Akansha Agarwal, Co-Founder & CMO of Int2Cruises, Asia’s first cruise-focused OTA, we delve into her entrepreneurial journey.
She shares her imaginative and prescient for revolutionizing the cruise business by making it extra accessible and thrilling for vacationers. We discover the advertising and marketing methods which have positioned Int2Cruises as a pacesetter on this area of interest market.
Are you able to share the inspiration behind founding Int2Cruises and what motivated you to concentrate on cruise journey?
Akansha Agarwal: Over a number of years of expertise within the cruise business, we acknowledged the clear challenges that Indian cruisers confronted when reserving their holidays.
Whereas the cruising expertise is uncomplicated, the act of planning the journey to reach at that time was neither straightforward nor uncomplicated for Indian vacationers, as they should prepare for a number of providers, which creates challenges merely arrange by the dearth of a single, distinctive platform to help them.
That’s how Int2Cruises was shaped. We needed to simplify cruise planning for Indian vacationers and make it straightforward and easy to construct a visit on one clever platform the place they will entry all the pieces in a single place.
With Int2Cruises travellers can discover and evaluate stay sailings with over 25 totally different cruise manufacturers globally, whereas evaluating cabin pricing on the identical time.
We developed a solution-driven finish to finish service mannequin via Int2Cruises, from reserving flights, resorts, visas, excursions to journey insurance coverage, so you may handle your complete vacation, at one platform.
The inspiration for Int2Cruises was to take away boundaries from the cruise expertise by constructing an accessible and user-friendly ecosystem particularly for Indian travellers.
By leveraging real-time stock and tailors cruise suggestions based mostly on every particular person’s preferences, making cruise journey smarter, extra seamless, and pleasant.
Because the CMO, what distinctive advertising and marketing methods have you ever applied to advertise cruise journey in Asia?
Akansha Agarwal: Our main focus has been to make cruise holidays really feel straightforward, thrilling, and accessible for vacationers throughout Asia.
We have now created bundled, ready-to-book packages comparable to Fly + Cruise and Land + Cruise, so our clients can e-book their flights, resorts, visas and excursions on the identical time in a bundle and don’t have to look to totally different platforms or brokers for coordination.
We’re utilizing AI to assist make decision-making simpler. Our clever chat assistant assists customers with discovering the correct cruise based mostly on journey dates, vacation spot selection, sort of journey, ie: solo, companion, household, and naturally price range. It combines the quick and handy technique of automation however guides customers with the experience of a cruise professional.
As extra vacationers interact with Int2Cruises, the platform continues to be taught and enhance, providing more and more personalised suggestions. Our purpose is to make discovering and reserving a cruise as seamless and pleasant as looking your subsequent dream trip.
Are you able to talk about any partnerships or collaborations which were pivotal for Int2Cruises’ development?
Akansha Agarwal: Our basis as a cruise-first OTA is constructed on robust partnerships with over 25 worldwide cruise traces, which give our customers with real-time entry to pricing and stock throughout greater than 400 ships, 30,000 itineraries, and over 50,000 world sailings.
This deep integration is a key differentiator because it ensures vacationers at all times see stay availability and clear fares.
We have now equally targeted on increasing past cruise bookings. We have now partnered with airways, resorts, visas, and floor switch suppliers to create full end-to-end cruise holidays as one reserving expertise. Most just lately we now have began curating unique experiences on-board and at key locations.
This elevates a cruise vacation from being only a vacation to an immersive journey. Collectively these partnerships are altering the best way Indians take a look at cruise journey, and subsequently making it seamless, thrilling and extra accessible than earlier than.
What traits are you presently observing in shopper preferences for cruise journey, particularly post-pandemic?
Akansha Agarwal: We have now seen a outstanding change in traveler conduct after the pandemic. Beforehand, most vacationers would plan a land journey first and contest the added-on brief cruise expertise. At the moment, they’re reversing.
Many vacationers are choosing a cruise because the centerpiece of their vacation and are planning the steadiness of the journey across the cruise.
There’s robust demand for newer and bigger ships, together with short-haul choices like Singapore and Dubai. Europe stays a well-liked possibility, with the Mediterranean and Northern Europe most well-liked. There’s additionally curiosity in expedition cruises to locations like Antarctica and the Arctic.
When it comes to period, seven-night cruises have emerged because the candy spot. They supply ample time to discover whereas remaining manageable for households and dealing professionals.
Multi-generational journey can be gaining momentum, with households selecting cruises that supply quite a lot of experiences catering to all age teams, from youngsters to grandparents.
How do you see the cruise business evolving in Asia, and what position does Int2Cruises play in that transformation?
At current, cruising makes up solely about 1 % of India’s outbound journey, which signifies huge development potential. In FY 2023–24, India had 4.71 lakh cruise passengers booked domestically and internationally.
With initiatives like Cruise Bharat Mission, the federal government goals to construct India as a cruise tourism endpoint with a goal of two.5 million passengers yearly by 2029.
It’s not about demand, it’s about delivering ease, visibility, and entry, and that’s precisely the place we are available.
What recommendation would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs trying to enter the journey and tourism business?
India is likely one of the fastest-growing outbound journey markets on this planet. The outbound section is projected to develop at over 11 % CAGR and is predicted to succeed in 55 billion {dollars} by 2034. Concurrently, the net journey market in India is predicted to develop to twenty-eight.4 billion {dollars} by 2029.
With rising incomes, an aspirational traveller with an openness to experiential journey, and far stronger connectivity, India is predicted to be the world’s fourth largest supply of journey spend by 2030.
Given this trajectory, we see an actual alternative to make cruise reserving simpler for Indian customers and to boost consciousness of an underneath penetrated class.
Akansha Agarwal’s story is an inspiring instance of how ardour and a transparent imaginative and prescient can rework an business.
Her management at Int2Cruises has not solely created a profitable enterprise however has additionally considerably contributed to the expansion of cruise tourism in Asia. Her insights supply priceless classes for aspiring entrepreneurs.
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