NEWS — CONFERENCE PREVIEW
In association with trade media partner
This year’s Selling Cruise Conference takes place in Southampton on May22-23. HOLLIE-RAE MERRICK previews the event, for which Travel Weekly is once again trade media partner
This year’s Selling Cruise Conference will encourage agents to ‘Make it Happen’. The theme of the two-day
event, run by Clia UK & Ireland, aims to highlight the opportunities available to agents selling cruise. The conference is expected
to attract 400 delegates to Southampton on May 22 and 23, with an optional third day available for extra ship visits.
Make it Happen Andy Harmer, Clia’s director for the UK and Ireland, said: “The theme this year is Make it Happen because there are so many opportunities which should excite travel agents and consumers. “Last year we had some great ship launches and we have the same this year, and river cruise is still really growing. “This is also our first full year as Clia and that is very exciting for us. “The industry is doing a lot in
terms of refurbishments, new ships and new routes, and it’s
Ships that agents can visit in Southampton will include Celebrity Eclipse, QM2 and MSC Opera
time to get behind all that and make it happen.” The first
day of the conference features a trade fair, conference sessions and a sail-away party in the evening. The speakers at this
We get a real cross-
section of agents because so many people come for different things
year’s event are yet to be revealed.
The second day is for ship visits, with Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, Royal Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas and Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess all in port. On the optional third day, MSC Cruises’ MSC Opera and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Eclipse will be available for agents to explore.
New format The format of the trade fair is changing this year and Harmer said he was keen to make sure attendees learned as
much as possible
from the event. “We’re still working
on the plans but we want it
to be a journey through different parts of the industry,” said Harmer. “We want to have set times for
different groups of delegates to attend talks about various aspects of the industry. There will be a much more structured approach.” Harmer said the aim of the event was to teach agents a new skill, or help them make a new contact
which they could take back to their agency and use to make bookings. Last year’s event, which had
the tagline ‘Think Ahead’, was a sellout and Harmer is expecting the same this year. “We get a real cross-section of agents attending because so many people come for different things,” he added. “Some will come purely for the ships they get to see – getting that first-hand knowledge means a lot to agents and it can really help them to seal a deal.”
SELLING CRUISE CONFERENCE
Where? Southampton When? May 22 and 23 (plus optional third day on May 24) Cost? Tickets are £50 plus VAT (accommodation is extra but can be booked through Clia). Book at
cruisexperts.org
16 •
travelweekly.co.uk — 23 January 2014
CONFERENCE PREVIEW
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