00:01The cruise industry is trying to attract a new and younger clientele with the
00:06help of social media content creators. Millennials and Gen Z's are definitely
00:12looking for affordable options. They're looking for quick time to get away to
00:17escape their corporate nine-to-five. Cruise companies are trying to appeal not
00:23just to a different cruise company's customer, but rather the person that
00:28might go to Disney or Las Vegas.
00:38The history of modern cruising really started in the 1960s and 1970s. It was
00:43around the same time that popular media like the TV show The Love Boat came out.
00:51There's a trope that came out of that era about people who cruise as the newlyweds,
00:56the nearly-deads, and the over-feds. And it's really that image that solidified through the next couple of decades.
01:02Just before the pandemic, the cruise industry kind of was just muddling along, wasn't really seen as a very attractive
01:09investment.
01:09We will see more cases and things will get worse than they are right now.
01:16There's an argument to be made that no industry was as hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as the
01:22cruise industry.
01:23Companies were reporting negative revenue during this period. The three public companies, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian Cruise Line, from
01:322020 to 2022 reported a collective loss of nearly $50 billion.
01:38Once these companies hit rock bottom during the pandemic, they moved very quickly once travel restrictions were lifted.
01:44And what they found was the demand was there.
01:48Since the start of 2023, the stocks of the three public cruise lines, Norwegian, Carnival, and Royal Caribbean, have surged
01:56thanks to customers flocking to the seas.
01:58Royal Caribbean's stock has skyrocketed over 500%.
02:02More than 40 million passengers are forecast to sail by 2027, up from 29.7 million in 2019, according to
02:10data from the Cruise Line International Association.
02:13What's helped that surge is an army of content creators partnering with the cruise industry to help carry its message.
02:22Meet Adri Smith, a social media influencer who has partnered with Virgin Voyages.
02:27We need to be, like, on yachts every day, sipping Mavosas in Miami.
02:35As a social media influencer, I have the opportunity to work with different cruise lines.
02:40They hire me to showcase the experience as a whole to my audience.
02:46I would say one of the myths of cruising is that the food is bad.
02:50My audience is definitely interested to see what they're going to eat on board,
02:55so I'm always showing them what I'm eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
03:00The cruise industry and content creators have really cultivated a symbiotic relationship in this post-pandemic world.
03:07The message that cruise companies are trying to get out there with these content creator partnerships is really that cruising
03:13is for everyone,
03:14with a special emphasis on younger people who might not have thought of cruising as a viable or attractive option
03:21in the past.
03:25Alex Ojeda, whose popularity on social media reviewing water parks and cruise lines has earned him the nickname The Slide
03:34Guy.
03:34Recently, he made a video reviewing the slides on Royal Caribbean's new ship with the CEO of that cruise line.
03:42We should let fate decide who goes backwards.
03:45Technically, I'm your boss.
03:47Technically, I'm your boss, right?
03:47So when we get in with the rally, we put in and I'll take you back in.
03:51No!
03:52No!
03:52No!
03:53No!
03:54No!
03:55The flexibility of these content creation partnerships also allow cruise companies to target a more niche audience.
04:07cruise lines are definitely changing to cater more to a younger audience i've seen that firsthand
04:12myself i myself am a millennial and i've seen a lot more gen z and millennials while i've been
04:18cruising on different cruise ships they are catering more by providing more fun experiences
04:25they also have really good excursions that you can do once you get off the ship
04:34after the pandemic we entered this era of revenge travel which saw demand far outpace supply in the
04:41travel industry this was one of the main reasons behind the really rapid increases we saw in the
04:48prices of hotels and airfare since january 2023 vacation expenses are 13 higher than pre-pandemic
04:56levels on average according to nerd wallet's travel price index at the same time cruise prices
05:02didn't increase as much really helping improve the value perception among the general population
05:08of going on a cruise the future for cruising still looks bright royal caribbean gave their financial
05:16targets for 2026 that beat expectations as a result of continued strong demand still growth is expected
05:24to slow down compared to the skyrocketing numbers we saw in the post-pandemic era regardless my reporting
05:31shows that this relationship between the cruise industry and content creators is extremely strong
05:36and looks set to continue for the near future
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