Cruise 118 sets sail with travelsupermarket

NORTH West travel business Cruise118.com has won a landmark multi-million pound deal with Moneysupermarket.com’s travel arm.

The deal with travelsupermarket.com will allow the Chorley company – launched 12 months ago by two former MyTravel executives – to double its turnover and staff numbers. 

Financial details were not disclosed but the partnership is likely to propel Cruise 118’s sales to over £10m a year.

Cruise118, which has 25 employees, won a competitive tender to power the price comparison website’s cruise pages. travelsupermarket.com, is introducing cruise holidays for the first time as part of a major overhaul.

Cruise travel is currently the fastest growing travel sector, with consumers increasingly seeking all inclusive holiday options and prices now comparable to package holidays.

Last year almost 1.5 million Britons took a cruise holiday, up 11% on 2007.

Mal Barritt, director of Cruise118.com, said: “Despite being relatively new in the industry, we are the market leaders when it comes to customer service and technology which is why there is great synergy with travelsupermarket.com.

“This is an exciting development for both Cruise118.com and travelsupermarket.com and we predict it will lead to further growth in the UK cruise market.”

Graham Donoghue, managing director at travelsupermarket.com added: “The new site is a major step forward for us and we are delighted to be able to launch with the new cruise product. The new platform opens up opportunity for a wide range of new product, functionality and content in the coming months.”