52 | TRADE NEWS
SEABOURN, SILVERSEA AND HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS JOIN THE EXPEDITION CRUISE NETWORK
THREE expedition cruise lines, Seabourn, Silversea and Heritage Expeditions, have joined the recently formed Expedition Cruise Network (ECN),
bringing the
membership total to fourteen. Meanwhile over 250 travel trade professionals have signed up to the trade membership portal within just two weeks of the network’s launch. Martin Johnson, Chairman of the Expedition Cruise Network said: “It’s incredible to see the initial response of ECN both in terms of new operators joining the network, and travel trade members signing up to the platform. The expedition cruise sector has gone through a huge amount of development in recent years and we are incredibly proud to form the first dedicated membership organisation. Our mission is to connect expedition cruise operators and inform, educate and promote their products to a well-targeted global travel- trade community. This initial response really demonstrates the opportunity for the network and the appetite of the travel industry to become more connected and informed about expedition cruising.
EMIRATES Airline and Etihad Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their interline
agreement and provide
travellers additional itinerary options when visiting the UAE. This first of its kind agreement between the two UAE carriers aims to capitalise on opportunities to boost tourism to the UAE from key source markets by enabling visitors to experience more than one destination in a single itinerary. This summer, customers of each airline will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly
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Northern Ireland ‘Meets’ the Middle East
SIX tourism companies from Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland travelled to Dubai, to join Tourism Ireland at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), in a bid to grow tourist numbers from the Middle East in 2023 and beyond. Tourism Ireland had arranged meetings for
the tourism operators from Northern Ireland with key Middle Eastern travel professionals who are attending ATM. ATM is the biggest travel trade event in the UAE, attracting more than 34,000 visitors.
CELESTYAL is continuing to invest substantially in growing key markets with the appointment of two senior members to its commercial team. Tobias Klitsch joins as VP of Global Market Development while Beth Hulett has been named Global Market Development Manager. Tobias Klitsch has a wealth
EMIRATES AND ETIHAD ANNOUNCE INTERLINE EXPANSION
into either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with a seamless return via the other airport. The new agreement also
provides
travellers planning to explore the UAE with the flexibility of one-stop ticketing for their full journey and convenient baggage check-in.
CLIA Conference 2023: A Heroic Year for UK Cruising
of experience and has held senior positions within the travel industry for 15 years. He joins Celestyal from PA Consulting, where he worked with organisations across the Aviation and Travel verticals to deliver structural change, with a view to driving long-term growth and commercial success, in his role as Director. Prior to that, Tobias worked at Virgin Atlantic as Director of Sales Strategy & Development, designing and executing the airline’s Global Sales and Account Management strategy. Before joining Virgin Atlantic, Tobias has held senior leadership roles at British Airways across Revenue Management and Sales, as well as delivering the airline’s Ancillaries strategy. As Celestyal’s VP of Global Market Development, Tobias will work cross-functionally to design and execute the commercial strategy that will deliver the vision of being brilliant to do business with. He will also provide analytical insight and partner with Sales leaders to devise
CELENE DUFFY TO JOIN APG IRELAND AS KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER
Celene Duffy has recently joined APG Ireland as Key Account Manager and will be responsible for promoting the airlines represented by APG Ireland to the Irish travel trade. APG Ireland represents several prestigious carriers including Virgin Atlantic, WestJet and Egyptair. Celene started her travel
Of course, those in attendance missed the majority of the UK’s hosting of Eurovision 2023; This did not prove an issue as CLIA brought their own version of the show to life at the Gala Dinner hosted within Southampton’s beautiful Guildhall. Picture the scene- Ben Bouldin and Rob Scott in some very questionable wigs. The lovely Lynn Narraway and Eithne Williamson in brightly coloured costumes. And two ‘authentic’ (to think of a better word) renditions of two Eurovision classics in the form of ABBA and Bucks Fizz. A fantastic start to a marvellous night as agents and suppliers came together to celebrate the brilliant work of the UK cruising industry and its partners. Having indulged in entertainment provided
by Cunard and a hearty meal, agents and suppliers closed the night and awaited the closing sessions of the CLIA weekend. Hopping onboard one of the newest cruise
ships in the world- P&O Cruises Arvia- The final sessions began with the key message focusing on sustainability and its importance to cruise customers. After a final round of prizes for agents in attendance carried out, it
NI Travel News’ Associate Editor
Sarah Pickering was delighted to be in attendance at the biggest ever UK CLIA Cruise Heroes Conference in Southampton. Agents were given the choice of three magnificent ships to visit on Friday 12th May; Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines Balmoral, Royal Caribbean International Anthem of the Seas and MSC Cruises Virtuosa. Onboard, they toured the ship, dined at
lunch time and then disembarked ahead of the exciting trade fair. The fair hosted cruise line and river
cruise operators, technology partners, tour operators, destinations and attractions and transport relations. This gave agents everything they required to start their cruise journey, with the help to grow their expertise and receive the latest industry and brand updates. Agents had the chance to win some
amazing prizes with different cruise lines such as P&O Cruises, Sliversea Cruises and Princess Cruises who were all giving away the chance to win a spot onboard one of their fleet this summer. Saturday 13th May was a day onboard
the beautiful Celebrity Silhouette;Over 600 agents in attendance piled onboard for a walk through tour on the solstice-class ship. For many agents in attendance, the weekend provided their first taste of cruising, giving the opportunity to sell these ships to clients alongside a personal opinion now to share of their experience onboard. This day witnessed the first conference sessions of the weekend, with guest speakers and industry executives sharing their knowledge and expertise with the agents in attendance. The session was rounded up with another prize giving with multiple agents from across the UK winning a spot on one of the impressive suppliers fleets.
was time to explore the brand new ship and all it has to offer. The 2023 CLIA conference provided a educational, inspirational, entertaining and extremely valuable opportunity for agents in attendance as they look to further expand their future cruising business. CLIA is the global organisation that fosters
their members’ success by advocating, educating and promoting the common interests of the cruise community. CLIA represents the interests of the cruise industry community. #cruiseheroes
Celestyal Expands Global Commercial Team with Two Senior Appointments
the market-appropriate strategies to drive Celestyal’s growth plans. Tobias joined on 17th April and report directly to Celestyal’s Chief Commercial Officer, Lee Haslett. Beth Hulett comes with over eight years’ experience in the cruise industry. She joins Celestyal from Virgin Voyages where she worked with key UK partners to help drive sales in her role as Sales Manager. Previously, Beth worked at
Iglu.com as Senior Global Supply Manager where she helped strengthen relationships with Trade Partners and had an impressive track record of delivering commercial value, implementing change and improving performance. As Global Market Development Manager, Beth will support Tobias in delivering the commercial strategy to deliver value for both Celestyal and its Trade Partners globally. She will also support the field-based account team across all channels in identifying opportunities. Beth joined Celestyal on 21st April and will report directly into Tobias.
career with Delta Airlines before working for a number of travel agents including Sunway and Topflight. For the last few years, she has worked in media and marketing sales for the Irish Independent Newspaper, including media sales to the travel trade.
June 2023
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