As part of National Travel Agent Day on 5 September, P&O Cruises is giving agents the chance to win free holidays in a prize draw and earn double Shine points. 

Agents can win a seven-night cruise for themselves and a guest and bag a second cruise for a fellow travel agent of their choice by tagging a colleague who they believe has shone this year in one of P&O Cruises’ National Travel Agent Day social media posts. Agents will need to explain why the nominee deserves to win before both can be entered into a prize draw. 

The nominated colleague does not need to work for the same agency, but must be a member of the Shine Rewards Club to claim the prize.

Winning agents do not need to go on the same cruise as the person they nominated, with each winner receiving a separate seven-night holiday for two in a balcony cabin, sailing round-trip from Southampton.

The incentive runs from 5-8 September 2025, with agents also able to earn double Shine points by booking and spinning a Select Price holiday between the same dates

P&O Cruises Associate Vice-President, Sales and Distribution Ruth Venn said: “National Travel Agent Day is the perfect opportunity for us to recognise and reward the passion, expertise and hard work of our trade partners.” 

The advertising watchdog has censured four travel agencies over ads which included environmental claims about cruises.

Barrhead Travel and three online specialists – Sunshine Cruise Holidays/Cruise1st, Travel Circle/Cruise Circle and Cruise.co.uk/SeaScanner – were told not to run the adverts again in the form investigated or complained of.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the rulings were part of a “wider piece of work on environmental claims”.

The Barrhead advert on March 29 stated “Celebrity Cruises. A Strong Focus On Sustainability And Eco-friendly Practices”.

The ASA challenged whether the ad gave a misleading impression of the advertised cruises’ environmental impact.

Barrhead told the ASA that the wording used in the ad was taken, in part, from the cruise supplier’s website.

The words “Strong Focus” did not appear on the supplier’s website and had been added by Barrhead Travel in the copy submitted to it digital agency. Following contact from the ASA, it had removed the ad.

Celebrity Cruises said it had not been involved in the creation, approval or publication of the ad.

The ASA said: “The ad did not explain the basis of the claim ‘A Strong Focus On Sustainability And Eco-friendly Practices’ and we had not seen evidence to demonstrate that sustainability or ‘eco-friendly’ practices were at the heart of Celebrity Cruise’s operations. We therefore concluded it was likely to mislead. We welcomed Barrhead Travel’s decision to remove it.”

The ASA told Barrhead “to ensure that the basis of future environmental claims was made clear and that robust substantiation was held to support them”.

A Barrhead Travel spokesperson told Travel Weekly: “We strive to ensure we always provide our customers with genuine and transparent information that accurately reflects the service and practices of our supplier partners.

“On this occasion, our wording was not considered an accurate representation of Celebrity Cruises’ sustainability policy. We have taken this feedback onboard and have reviewed internal sign-off procedures and training.

“Sustainability is, rightly, a crucial component of the wider travel industry’s future focuses and we will continue to work in partnership with our suppliers to communicate relevant industry updates to our customers to help them make informed decisions about their travel plans.”

A Seascanner ad seen on March 20 stated “MSC World Europa also introduces cutting-edge environmental technology, including an advanced LNG-powered engine, making it one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships afloat”.

The term “eco-friendly” contained a hyperlink that led to a webpage on the same website titled “Eco-Friendly Cruises”.

The text stated: “The cruise industry has made giant leaps over the past decade to reduce its environmental impact. Recycling, incinerating and waste processing are now the norm, not the exception. Green tech is also being installed on new ships and retrofitted on older ones […] the MSC Virtuosa strives to protect marine life, reduce air emissions and optimise energy.”

A campaign group, Opportunity Green, challenged whether the ad, which included the claims “environmental technology” and “one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships” gave a misleading impression about the environmental impact of travel with the advertised cruise ships.

Cruise.co.uk, trading as Seascanner, explained the challenged claims were taken from publicly-available sources, which included a MSC Cruises press release that outlined the ship’s environmental and sustainability measures.

Following contact with the ASA, Seascanner removed the text “MSC World Europa also introduces cutting-edge environmental technology, including an advanced LNG-powered engine, making it one of the most eco-friendly cruise ships afloat” from its website.

MSC Cruises said the wording in the challenged claims had not been directly supplied to Seascanner.

The ASA concluded the environmental impact of the advertised cruise ship had not been adequately explained and the ad was likely to mislead, and welcomed Seascanner’s assurance the claims had been removed.

It told Cruise.co.uk Ltd t/a Seascanner to ensure that ads featuring environmental claims did not mislead.

“The basis of environmental claims, and comparative claims, must be made clear and all material information must be stated, where the omission of that information was likely to mislead,” it said.

A spokesperson for Cruise.co.uk/SeaScanner told Travel Weekly: “We take compliance with ASA guidelines seriously and acted in good faith when referencing environmental information about MSC World Europa. The description in question was drawn directly from publicly available material.

“Following contact from the ASA, we promptly removed the content from our website. We are committed to providing customers with accurate and transparent information and continuously review our processes to support this goal.”

A Cruise Circle advert, also seen on March 20, had a focus on the MSC Euribia cruise ship and featured text about “Eco-Friendly LNG Technology”.

Opportunity Green challenged the claims about “Eco-Friendly LNG Technology” and “LNG, the world’s cleanest marine fuel”.

Travel Circle Ltd t/a Cruise Circle said its website content came from a third party and it removed the claims from its website.

MSC Cruises said it had no control over the form of wording used by travel agents in, among other places, their advertising.

The ASA concluded the ad was likely to mislead and told Travel Circle Ltd t/a Cruise Circle to ensure the basis of future environmental claims, and comparative claims, was made clear.

“Unless an ad clarified otherwise, they must hold robust substantiation relating to the full life cycle of a cruise to support an environmental claim,” said the ASA.

Jason Daniels, managing director of Cruise Circle, told Travel Weekly: “Whilst the content in question came from a 3rd party via an automated feed, we removed it from our website as soon as the ASA contacted us.

“Cruise ships comprise less than 1% of the global maritime community, the cruise industry is at the forefront of the development of innovative technologies and practices to reduce emissions and protect the environment.

“On the wider issue, Cruise Circle advocates that all industries and stakeholders provide accurate, transparent, and substantiated information when making environmental and sustainability claims.”

A page on cruise1st.co.uk seen on April 15 included a page dedicated to MSC Cruise’s offerings which made the claims “Powered by LNG, the world’s cleanest marine fuel”, “Uses new green technologies”, “If you’re keen on cruising but worried about the environmental impact, the MSC World Europa offers a green alternative. With sustainability and lessening the impact of cruises on marine life a key driver in the ship’s design, you can rest easy knowing you’re being powered by cleaner fuel and being propelled by blades that mitigate the worst impacts of underwater noise”.

The ASA challenged whether the ad gave a misleading impression of the environmental impact of the advertised cruise ship.

Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd t/a cruise 1st told ASA that the content of the ad had been populated directly from the featured cruise line’s official sources.

MSC Cruise said it had no control over the form of wording used by travel agents in advertising.

The wording in the challenged claims had not been supplied to cruise 1st and had not at any time appeared in MSC Cruises’ own promotional materials.

The ASA concluded the ad had exaggerated the environmental credentials of the advertised cruise ship and as a result the ad was likely to mislead.

The ASA told Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd t/a cruise 1st to ensure the basis of future environmental claims, and comparative claims, was made clear, and that appropriate evidence was held to support them to ensure that such claims were not exaggerated.

“We also told them to ensure they included all material information about the environmental impact of cruises they sold, where the omission of that information was likely to mislead,” it said.

Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd t/a cruise1st declined to comment to Travel Weekly.

Asia’s biggest sustainability event for tourism, PHIST 2025, broke records today with over 1,300 delegates from across the region as government and business leaders warned the hospitality industry to act fast on integrating community-driven sustainability into travel and tourism experiences to appeal to a new generation of visitors.

Hotels and tourism operators need to engage with local communities to enrich travel and tourism programmes and meet the changing preferences of travellers in order to drive visitor dwindling numbers and reboot Thailand’s flagging tourism industry, delegates heard.

Held at the Angsana Laguna Phuket resort, the 8th edition of Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism (PHIST) brought together hoteliers, policy makers and innovators for more than 25 hard- hitting sessions, alongside a sustainable fashion show, farm-to-table showcase and awards recognising best practices.

In Phuket, the public and private sectors have collaborated very successfully in the past, such as with the Sandbox initiative establishing Phuket as the international entry point into Thailand during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the industry is urging them to do so again.

Phuket Governor Khun Sophon Suwannarat used his keynote address to call for stronger local governance and sustainable urban resort planning.

“Local power and lasting progress can be achieved if we focus on four key areas – green spaces, infrastructure, sustainability, and the move towards a Phuket Special Administrative Zone here. For example, a new community park at Layan Beach will be created to increase green space and help curb illegal construction. Laguna Phuket group also contributed for a road.”

William E. Heinecke, Chairman and Founder of Minor International, which operates 640 hotels in 65 countries, including more than 30 in Thailand, urged the private sector to deliver measurable results. As he accepted the Green Giant Award for his leadership in sustainable business, he explains about his initiative.

“Our framework at Minor is built on three pillars – People, Nature and Responsible Business. By 2030 we aim to support 3 million people through workforce development and community engagement,

“The bigger picture is that Thailand’s tourism industry is flagging and needs to pivot to re-energise
its offering across the world. Thailand has a chance to reset. Community engagement and positive
social outcomes have been left behind. This is the new battle ground for the industry.”

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