Travel professionals now have a new tool to become fully versed in Costa Cruises, Europe’s leading cruise line. CostaExtra, exclusively for travel professionals in North America, provides key information and materials to help agents become experts on all things Costa Cruises.
The user-friendly interface includes a vibrant homepage with a navigational toolbar that features a search function and nine quick links to blog posts, videos, photos, cruise fares, itineraries, promotions and a range of downloadable content. The homepage also features videos and blog articles that will familiarize travel professionals with Costa’s offerings. A scrolling ticker flashes one of the cruise line’s exciting itineraries.
“Travel professionals are the core of our business, and by developing CostaExtra our goal was to provide a go-to hub for agents that they can use when booking, planning and promoting Costa Cruises in North America,” said Scott Knutson, vice president of sales and marketing for Costa Cruises North America. “We launched CostaExtra with the intention of making it easier for our dedicated and enthusiastic travel agents to be successful in selling Costa cruises and CostaTours!, and we encourage them to take some time to get to know the portal.”
The “News” tab in the navigational toolbar features press releases with the latest Costa developments and brand enhancements. The “Promotions” section includes the full calendar of Costa cruises with an itinerary and fare chart for the 2017-18 season, making it easy for travel agents to begin planning their clients’ vacation.
The “Useful Information” tab is similar to a Q&A, with everything from the age requirements of the Squok Club and phoning home from the ship to dining schedules and packing recommendations.
The “Downloads” section provides easy access to rich downloadable content that travel professionals can use to learn more about the cruise line, promote the brand and plan cruises for clients, including deck plans, beverage packages, the Samsara spa menu, the Costa logo, and destination and ship photos. In addition, the “Photos” and “Videos” tabs provide a more detailed glimpse into the many Costa destinations, activities and ships – putting exclusive multimedia content at the disposal of agents to use to promote Costa cruises.
In the “Blog” tab, travel professionals will find quick and informative articles that share recent brand developments, recommend itineraries and excursions, and other key insights to ensure they are up-to-date on Costa and share with their clients.
The toolbar also features the “Costa Link,” “CostaClub” and “My Costa” tabs. The “Costa Link” jumps to the Costa Link website, the business portal for travel agents; the “CostaClub” tab takes travel professionals to the member homepage of Costas exclusive loyalty program; and the “My Costa” tab enables travel professionals to link to their MyCosta account to customize client voyages with CostaTours!, drink and wellness packages, print tickets and activate their clients’ premium discount.
For direct contact with Costa, the bottom of the homepage includes call center hours and phone number information as well as quick links to Costas official Facebook and YouTube pages so travel agents can get connected with Costa socially.