| ACA toasts most successful year yet

THE cruise sector’s ‘who’s who’ gathered last week at the Sydney Opera House, as the Australian Cruise Association (ACA) celebrated the end of another successful year.

ACA Chair Phil Holliday welcomed guests to the Opera House’s new restaurant, Midden by Mark Olive, where he spoke of the many achievements of the Association this year, which has grown to its highest number of members in 2024.

Guests from various sectors of the industry, including many of the cruise lines, ports, attractions, and destinations, attended the event, which showcased Mark Olive’s delicious indigenous culinary offerings against a stunning Sydney backdrop.

The Association has hosted numerous cruise-ready workshops around Australia this year, and has been represented at several key domestic and international events.

A number of these saw Chief Executive Officer Jill Abel feature as a speaker, including Aug’s Travel24, hosted by Cruise Weekly’s sister title Travel Daily (CW 09 Aug).

ACA also staged its own conference in Adelaide (CW 05 Sep), which attracted record attendance, while the Association has been invited to sit on key industry working groups, including the one announced recently by the Government of New South Wales, which will deliberate on a third terminal for Sydney (CW 14 Oct).

“The industry continues to go from strength to strength, even in these challenging times,” Holliday told attendees.

“We increased our advocacy with peak participation in the Coastal Trading Act review, the National Visitor Economy Group, the South Australian Cruise Attraction Working Group, the New South Wales Cruise Industry Advisory Panel, [and] the National Sea Passenger Facilitation Committee,” he added. MS

Pictured is Abel with Cruise Lines International Association Hall of Famer Ted Blamey and Carnival Corporation Director of Nautical Operations Australia Michael Drake.