THE LOUIS group has signed a franchise agreement with easyCruise for exclusive use of the brand in the eastern Mediterranean, in a deal that will bring the distinctive bright orange vessels to Cyprus shores.
Under the deal, Louis plc will get exclusive rights to use the easyCruise brand in the eastern Mediterranean, as well as use of online sales channel www.easyCruise.com, Louis said in a statement.
Louis operates 12 cruise liners, mainly in the Mediterranean. It also operates a number of hotels in Cyprus and Greece.
Louis and easyCruise will also seek to increase the number of cruise ships that easyCruise has ordered from Greek shipbuilder Neorion Holdings to three, from two, with an option for three more.
“Louis will have the option either to use a newly built vessel or a second-hand vessel to be upgraded and converted in order to meet the easyCruise standards. easyCruise Ltd will be able to operate in the region themselves until the time Louis plc deploys the agreed vessels,” a statement from the group said.
A Louis spokesman told the Cyprus Mail the new cruises would begin “as soon as the first ship was ready and operational”.
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the Chairman of easyCruise, said in a statement that by joining forces with Louis, “the clear market leader in offering cruises in the eastern Mediterranean”, easyCruise would not only benefit from their operational know-how in the area, but would also allow the company to grow faster by ordering more ships and covering more geographical areas faster.
“If all the new building contracts and options are exercised, the total fleet operating under the easyCruise brand will reach eight vessels by sometime in 2010 or 2011,” he said.
Costakis Loizou, Executive Chairman of Louis, said the deal would create the opportunity for Louis Cruise Lines to expand its activities to a new type of cruising, “one that is mainly addressed to younger generations and offers a product which complements the traditional activities of Louis Cruise Lines”.
Haji-Ioannou, founder of the famous no-frills carrier easyJet, set up easyCruise in 2005.
The idea was to offer a unique holiday experience to independently minded travellers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Unlike traditional cruising, the ships stay in port in the afternoon and evening to encourage people to have fun ashore and sail late at night for the next destination. The flexible one-week itineraries allow people to embark and depart at any port on the route, provided they stay on board at least two nights.
