| TA lures cruise execs to Australia

Tourism Australia has invited a
group of the cruise industry’s
biggest global players abroad to
sample Australia first-hand, as it
steps up support for the
country’s fastest growing
tourism sector.
SEVENTEEN senior executives from cruise
companies in the US and UK have been
courted to Australian shores in Sep, Tourism
Australia’s Manager of Industry Development,
Leigh Sorenson revealed to Cruise Weekly.
Speaking to CW at the Australian Tourism
Exchange in Perth, Sorenson said key
objectives for handling cruise growth at TA
over the next 12 months included improving
cruise data collection and building stronger
relationships with cruise liners.
Through this partnership with Qantas and
state tourism boards, senior cruise planners
from the likes of Carnival & Royal Caribbean
will meet in Sydney in late Sep, before being
dispersed around the country on tailormade
itineraries of their choice.
The famil provides cruise itinerary
decision-makers the opportunity to see for
themselves the port facilities, attractions and
sightseeing options, “getting local tour
operators involved.”
Sorenson said the initiative gives
the execs time to experience up to three
ports during their travels over seven days.
“If they want to do Brisbane, Cairns and
Perth, or Darwin, Perth and Adelaide cause
they’ve already seen the east coast, we’ll do it
for them,” he said.
“Instead of telling them what they are going
to be doing, we’re going to provide them with
customised itineraries to suit.”
The concept aims to tempt cruise lines to
stay longer and visit more ports while in
Australian waters, or when passing through.
The initiative was originally considered to be
tied in with ATE, giving participants a day at
the Australiania showcase, but Sorenson said
TA encountered “challenges” with the
concept this year being hosted in Perth.
“The Australian Tourism Exchange is such a
broad tourism event, we thought this year
we’d make it a standalone cruise specific
event to give it some prestige.”
The hope is to run the executive famils
annually, linked with ATE from 2013 onwards.