![](\"http:\/\/lh6.ggpht.com\/_OY-0d2rKv_Q\/R_SwVbuE4uI\/AAAAAAAACwA\/t1i-8Y_UWRw\/s400\/orion.jpg\")
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Australia’s Orion Expedition Cruises plans to boost UK sales before it buys a second ship.<\/p>\n
The cruiseline’s ship, Orion, sails between Darwin and Broome in the Kimberley, Northern Australia, and to Papua New Guinea and Antarctica.<\/p>\n
However, founder and managing director Sabrina Bratton, in London last week on a UK\/US sales trip to raise trade awareness of the cruiseline, said she is keen to increase international bookings and buy a second ship.<\/p>\n
“Despite economic conditions, it’s still expensive to build, so we are looking to buy. We are a profitable company with a 35% repeat factor. But that brings its own challenges as it means we have to offer new destinations and itineraries for repeat passengers,” she said.<\/p>\n
Bratton said the second ship would cruise around Asia, which would attract repeat guests as well as the UK market.<\/p>\n
“We are offering a cruise from Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City, and we want to build on that. Our research shows there is demand for Asia.”<\/p>\n
Orion cruises are priced in Australian dollars, but Bratton said a pound-based brochure would be produced as UK business improves. As well as specialist cruise agents, she is targeting retailers and operators with a strong database of well-travelled clients who are not cruisers but are looking for something different.<\/p>\n
Australians account for 90% of Orion’s passengers, excluding charter business, with Brits and Americans making up most of the remaining. Bratton expects 60 British passengers this year, worth about \u00a3315,000.<\/p>\n
If Orion adds the second ship, Bratton hopes the UK and Europe will account for 25% of sales. She said: “We have representation in South Africa and Asia but we have identified the UK as the biggest growth market after the US.”<\/p>\n
She said the new ship would be small – Orion holds just 106 passengers – so it can visit remote destinations.<\/p>\n