FEEDBACK from Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) move to a two-day Cruise360 has been “incredible”, Managing Director Joel Katz told CW.
The local CLIA head said the expanded format allowed the industry to discuss the trends shaping international cruising in more detail.
“We moved to two days based on feedback from both the cruise lines and the travel agents who said that they wanted more time to be able to engage, to network, to learn more about the products, and the feedback has been incredible,” Katz said.
“They’ve been able to pace themselves over the different sessions and are really engaging more closely with the cruise lines,” he added.
CLIA will maintain a two-day format in Sydney next year, taking place on 17 and 18 Sep at the ICC.
Katz, reflecting on the key learnings from the Brisbane conference, said travel advisors would depart the event with an increased confidence in targeting new cruisers.
“We’ve heard ‘matching the right guests to the right ship’ about 100 times over the last few days,” he joked.
“The growth of luxury and of course the growth of multi-generational travel, which we’ve been talking about for years, really seems to be, to some extent, what’s driving particularly that new-to-cruise market.”
Pictured: Richard Styles, local head of Cruise360’s major sponsor Visit Qatar, with Katz.
