DREAMLINES the global cruise portal headquartered in Hamburg, Germany has announced they have acquired leading Australian cruising websites www.cruisecentre.com.au and www.cruiseaway.com.au; gaining significant market share in Australia and offering travelers greater cruising options and specialist support.
CruiseCentre.com.au and CruiseAway are recognised as being among the top portals in the Australian cruise market and have been operated by Cruise Marketing Group until today.
The two websites will now be operated by DREAMLINES alongside its current brand www.DREAMLINES.com.au. Each of the new portals has a significant existing customer base which is maintained by an experienced cruise consultant team.
DREAMLINES Australia is located in Burleigh Waters in Queensland and managed by Holger Numrich who previously worked as Director Sales and Business Development for the German price comparison portal billiger.de. Before that, he held the position of Operations Executive at travel website Expedia.
“In Australia, CruiseCentre.com.au and CruiseAway have a reputation for being cruise specialists; both have a valuable existing customer base and the consultants are experienced cruise experts,” said Mr. Numrich, DREAMLINES Australia Country Manager.
Felix Schneider, DREAMLINES Chief Executive Officer, is delighted the global cruise portal has expanded in Australia and can now offer Australians a greater variety of cruising options.
“We are very excited about our successful entry into the Australian cruise market. The acquisition of CruiseCentre.com.au and CruiseAway is an important step for DREAMLINES to achieve our goal of becoming the global market leader in selling cruises online,” said Mr. Schneider.
With an annual growth of twenty per cent, the Australian cruise market is the fastest growing market worldwide. More than 800,000 passengers have boarded cruise ships in 2013 and according to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) this number is likely to exceed one million in 2016.
“The reason for this is not only the positive economic development but also the growing interest amongst Australians. First time cruisers prefer domestic destinations like Australia, New Zealand or South-Pacific whereas for international destinations, Europe is the most popular,” concluded Mr. Schneider.
DREAMLINES was founded in 2012 in Hamburg and within a short timeframe has evolved into one of the most popular cruise portals in Germany. DREAMLINES has now expanded into seven new markets and currently has 250 staff worldwide.
SOURCE: DREAMLINES