Cruise industry gathers for biggest ever event Cruise360 Australasia
The Australian and New Zealand cruise community will gather in Sydney this week for the biggest ever Cruise360 Australasia conference, the industry’s key annual forum for sharing ideas, knowledge and visions for the future, CLIA said.
More than 600 participants are expected to take part in Friday’s sold-out event, the sixth staged in Australasia by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). It will carry the theme #NextGeneration, dealing with the next developments to affect the thriving cruise sector as well as the emerging generation of travellers taking to the world’s oceans and rivers.
CLIA Australasia Managing Director Joel Katz said the event would provide invaluable insight for travel agents as they specialise in a rapidly evolving industry.
“We’ve had more interest in Cruise360 this year than ever before, which is a sign of the increasing dedication travel agents are showing for cruise,” Mr Katz said. “Our industry has grown rapidly in recent years, but it has also developed into a very diverse sector that caters to increasingly specialised markets. This creates enormous potential for travel agents who understand those markets and the changes occurring within them.”
To be held at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, this year’s Cruise360 conference will offer a packed program of international speakers and panellists including CLIA Global Chair Adam Goldstein; Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection President & CEO Ellen Bettridge; Virgin Voyages President & CEO Tom McAlpin; Wild Earth Travel General Manager Aaron Russ; and ID Tours New Zealand Executive Director and Chair of the New Zealand Cruise Association Debbie Summers.
Exclusive to CLIA members, Friday’s event will include a trade show for cruise industry exhibitors as well as opportunities for agents to win travel prizes. It will be preceded by an Executive Partner Product and Destination Showcase as well as a ship inspection aboard Princess Cruises’ Sea Princess on Thursday.
