LANDRY & KLING CELEBRATES 25 YEARS – AND THERE'S MORE TO SEA
Early mentors told Landry & Kling there wasn’t enough cruise business to warrant specialization but now, 25 years later, there’s quite a bit of evidence to the contrary.
Research by CLIA, (Cruise Lines International Association, www.cruising.org) shows the cruise industry is the most exciting growth category in the entire leisure market. Since 1980, the industry has averaged an annual passenger increase of 8.1% per year. The awakening of the corporate and incentive sector is one of several factors contributing to that growth.
Landry & Kling celebrates 25 years in business this year, thanks to the trust of many clients, and the cooperation of our cruise line partners and suppliers —past and present.
“At first, meeting planners doubt their programs can be adapted to the cruise environment” said Joyce
Landry, CEO. “But, the way the cruise lines accommodate our unusual requests, and trust us to try things never done before impresses our clients, opening their eyes to other cruise possibilities which brings the industry more future business.”
Company founders Joyce Landry & Josephine Kling ignited the corporate market for cruises beginning in 1982 and have consistently been the most visible industry spokesmen for cruise meetings ever since.
“I recall they created quite a buzz when they spoke about incentive cruises at the Seatrade Conference in 1986” said Chris Hayman, Managing Director—Seatrade. “They dangled a bunch of carrots from the podium, challenging cruise lines to match the hotels in rolling out the red carpet for corporate groups”.
Over the years Landry & Kling has established a reputation for innovation based on many firsts:
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Introduced many Fortune 500 companies to cruising for the first time
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Planned the first dockside ship charters to be used as floating hotels for global events in cities with insufficient hotel rooms: in the Caribbean for Cricket World Cup, in Jacksonville for Super Bowl, in Boston for DecWorld and in New Orleans during the American Heart Association’s annual meeting.
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Negotiated many first-time cruise solutions for clients such as side-by-side ship charters, half-ship charters, and sit-down dinners on deck for over 1800 guests – none of which had been executed before by the cruise lines involved.
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First to establish a strategic cruise alliance with a meetings industry giant, Experient (formerly Conferon Global Services) who chose to partner with Landry & Kling to ensure successful and cost-efficient cruises for their clients. "Teaming up with industry leaders known for quality, professionalism and innovation such as Landry & Kling is simply good business" said Rick Binford, CMP, Senior VP, Chief Marketing Officer, Experient. www.experient-inc.com
Joyce Landry & Jo Kling met while working at Holland America Line. Later they formed their business to serve as the first distribution channel between cruise lines and corporate America. “Cruise lines didn’t have corporate/ incentive departments then”, said Jo Kling, President, “and we realized event planners knew nothing about ships. So we set out to help them – we pitched stories to the media, spoke to the meetings industry, appeared on TV, wrote magazine columns, a newsletter, anything to get the word out that using a cruise venue instead of a hotel allows them to do more with less dollars and stress”.
“They study ships, they know the senior players in the cruise industry and they get access, quite frankly, better than anyone I’ve ever known in the industry” said David Morris, Executive Vice President, Silversea Cruises; “this is an industry that requires energy and passion and they’ve got both.”
For more about cruise meetings and charters, ship procurement and other cruise event services, event planners can find an ocean of information online at www.landrykling.com or by phone at 800-448-9002.
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