INTERVAL INTERNATIONAL EARNS NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE PRESIDENT’S CLUB STATUS
Miami, FL, January 28, 2003 – Interval International, a leading global vacation exchange company, today announced that its Interval Travel 2002 sales results for Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) have earned the company’s President’s Club status. The President’s Club is extremely exclusive and is comprised of a select group of less than 1% of NCL’s business partners.
“Our association with Interval International has been hugely successful, “ said Andy Stuart, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for Norwegian Cruise Lines. “Since the start of 2002, our mutual cruise sales have increased dramatically. We look forward to a continued strong partnership in the years to come.”
“The popularity of cruising continues to escalate among our members with our most recent data revealing that 32 percent have cruised within the last three years, compared with only seven percent of the general population,” said David C. Gilbert, executive vice president of Resort Sales and Marketing for Interval International. “Clearly, NCL’s quality offerings provide our members a benefit that adds flexibility and enhances our array of vacation options.”
In response to this growing interest in cruising, the Interval Travel Cruise Desk has been operating since 1997 to service the needs of the company’s North American consumer member families. The Cruise Desk represents a multi-million dollar operation and manages between 8,000 to 9,000 inquiries per month. In 1999, Interval introduced its cruise exchange option, which allowed members of Interval’s upgraded benefits program, Interval Gold, to relinquish home resort weeks in exchange for cruise vacations with the payment of a supplemental fee.
Early last year, the company launched Interval Options, which added spa and golf exchange vacations to its menu of leisure lifestyle alternatives.
All three programs fuel Interval’s ongoing strategy to complement its resort exchange services with flexibility and value to both its developer clients and members.
Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line is an international cruise company and industry innovator that currently operates a fleet of nine ships sailing to more than 140 ports around the world.
For more than 26 years, Interval International has led the vacation ownership industry with innovative products and the highest levels of quality, service and value complemented by a global network of more than 1,900 resorts in 75 countries. With its headquarters located in Miami, Florida, Interval serves its developer clients and 1.5 million members through 27offices in 18 countries and employs approximately 1,700 people worldwide. Interval International is a division of USA Interactive.
The Interval Travel Cruise Desk is a Cruise Lines International Association Booking Agency or “CLIA” certified.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Béatrice de Peyrecave
(305) 666-1861, ext. 7032
Beatrice.dePeyrecave@intervalintl.com
