| ACA Update 18 Jan 18 – Sailing into 2018

WITH Jill Abel, CEO Australian Cruise Association – I was delighted to begin the new year by reading cruising journalist Sally MacMillan’s outlook for 2018 in Fairfax Traveller.
Her prediction is there will be “More destination add-ons tied in with more active and immersive shore experiences. Longer and overnight stays in port, mid-cruise off-ship trips for a day or two and post- and pre-cruise extensions are featuring on several cruise lines’ itineraries”.
We couldn’t agree with you more Sally! In the last few years we have seen a growing passenger interest in getting more out of the destinations on their itineraries. In fact, many cruisers now plan their journeys based on the onboard offerings and also what they can experience when they step ashore.
We applaud cruise lines like Azamara, Silversea and Viking for embracing this concept and working closely with our members at the State and Regional Tourism Organisations and also our hard working groundhandlers to help their passengers go home with great memories from cultural, historic or food and wine tours which help them feel like they have really come to know the destinations they visited.
Another great example of this kind of collaboration is Princess Cruises which recently shot this destination/cruise video in conjunction with the team in Tasmania – CLICK HERE.
We look forward to 2018 bringing more opportunities to work closely with our cruise line colleagues on initiatives like this which ultimately bring success to all of us in the exciting cruise industry.