Cruise360 Australia could become a reality when ICCA joins forces with “the mother ship” to coordinate more local events, training and lobbying. AS the International Cruise Council Australasia moves toward rebranding under Cruise Lines International Association, the change will be clear for the local industry, according to chairman Gavin Smith...
Cruise360 Australia could
become a reality when ICCA
joins forces with “the mother
ship” to coordinate more local
events, training and lobbying.
AS the International Cruise Council
Australasia moves toward rebranding under
Cruise Lines International Association, the
change will be clear for the local industry,
according to chairman Gavin Smith and
general manager Brett Jardine.
Meeting last week with CLIA president and
CEO Christine Duffy, who also attended the
Cruise Industry Awards on Saturday, the ICCA
team said it was time to work together with a
more consistent, proactive approach.
Jardine said Australian agents could expect
to see a rise in communication with “the
mother ship” of CLIA.
“The level of material and support that we’ll
have from North America for training and
marketing through to the agents is going to
grow significantly, and we will be doing
everything we can to make sure that it’s
relevant for this market, which is important, as
well as replicating what’s been successful.”
He said agents would hear more from the
revamped association “than they will know
what to do with”.
Duffy revealed that conferences such as
Cruise360 and Cruise Shipping Miami were
likely to be replicated locally.
“We’re in the early stages of talking about
how we really take advantage of a global
platform to provide greater value to the agent
community,” she told CW.
“I’ve always been pleasantly surprised by the
number of Australians attending our Cruise360
conference, but we also recognise that it’s not
viable for everyone to come together at a
global conference so I think we can look
forward to seeing some of these things take
place at a regional level.”
An Australian version of Cruise360 “is certainly
something we should be looking at if the
demand is there from the agents, again piggybacking
off of the content and work that we
put into Cruise360 in North America,” she said.
Duffy also indicated that CLIA’s most
successful promotions in North America, such
as Cruise Vacation Month could become global.
“Australia had such a successful National
Cruise Month last year so we’re saying why
don’t we coordinate International Cruise Vacation
Month, running promotions around the world,
and maybe doing it twice a year,” she said.
“Those are the kinds of things you’ll see us
do more collectively as well as using social
media and PR in a coordinated fashion.”
Smith also conceded that ICCA were “not
well organised as an association” and they
looked forward to the capability and support
offered by CLIA.
