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CLIA CRUISE360 CONFERENCE PROGRAM - SESSION DETAILS:
Our opening State of the Industry session sets the tone for Cruise360 2022, welcoming attendees with a multifaceted dialogue highlighting the strength of our industry. As the cruise industry continues to define resiliency, this session provides an opportunity for industry leaders to renew, restore and remember why we do what we do, to encourage and motivate our trade partners – while re-emphasising the importance of working together, partnership, flexibility, growth and sustainability.
| Moderator: | James O’Loghlin |
| Panellists: | Marguerite Fitzgerald, President, Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia |
| Gavin Smith, Vice President & Managing Director, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd | |
| Steve Odell, SVP & MD Asia Pacific, Regent Seven Seas Cruises & Oceania Cruises |
Travel consultants play a crucial role in selling cruise and are looking for new opportunities to grow sales, take advantage of the “ready to travel again” mindset, and reassert the importance of the travel advisor in what has become a very complex travel environment. In this keynote presentation, Uniworld President and CEO Ellen Bettridge will explore new and growing opportunities for travel agents through renewed demand, new demographics, new trends and other market evolutions.
| Presenter: | Ellen Bettridge, President & CEO of Uniworld Boutique River Cruises |
Travel agents seeking to emerge in a stronger position after the pandemic need to understand how their clients’ habits are changing and how this affects their buying behaviour. What trends are cruise lines seeing? These are key aspects that cruise companies are focused on as they evolve their marketing strategies, and our cruise line sales and marketing panellists will share their insights. This session will kick-off with an overview of global trends presented by Henry Meagher, Industry Manager – Travel, Google
| Moderator: | Dan Russell, General Manager & Director, Clean Cruising |
| Panellists: | Kathryn Lock, Director of Marketing, Royal Caribbean International |
| Chloe Jones, Senior Marketing Manager, Princess Cruises | |
| Steve Richards, Director of Sales, Silversea Cruises | |
| Lisa Teiotu, Commercial Director Australia & New Zealand, MSC Cruises | |
| Matt Vince, Director of Marketing, Regent seven Seas Cruises |
While the guest remains at the centre of every cruise brand’s vision, preferences in travel are shifting, and cruise lines are focussed on tailoring the guest experience. Though the pandemic has been devastating, it has given designers the chance to innovate further, introduce new concepts, and reinforce changes already underway. Guests increasingly want to feel that they have more control over their onboard and shoreside experience, whether following a health regimen, choosing to live by sustainable values, working remotely or just having a good time, these should be effortless even while on holiday. Change is underway and cruise lines are helping to shape the future of travel.
| Moderator: | Jill Abel, CEO Australian Cruise Association |
| Panellists: | Michael Mihajlov, Director, Destination Management, Carnival Australia |
| Tim Jones, Vice President & Managing Director, Australia & APAC, Celebrity Cruises | |
| Nicole Costantin, Head of Sales, Australia, New Zealand & Asia, Explora Journeys | |
| Lisa Bolton, General Manager, Product Development, Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours | |
| Sharon Hando, Director of Sales, Virgin Voyages (represented by Travel The World) |
People are emerging from the pandemic with an insatiable desire to travel and cruise, yet travel remains extremely complex. While there may be light at the end of the tunnel, the challenges facing travel advisors and their clients can seem daunting after two incredibly difficult years, compounded by the current staff and skills shortages. Our expert panel of CLIA cruise specialist travel agents share their optimism about the future, and their experiences of how they are rebuilding their businesses in what continues to be a very challenging environment:
| Moderator: | Phil Hoffmann AM, Managing Director, Phil Hoffmann Travel |
| Panellists: | Melinda Gregor, Managing Director, Gregor and Lewis Bespoke Travel |
| Jeff Leckey, General Manager Cruise, House of Travel New Zealand | |
| Roslyn Ranse, Travel Manager, itravel & Travel Agent Achievers |
It doesn’t matter if your client is young or old, expeditions are about an attitude. If your client values real authentic experiences, getting close to nature and immersing themselves in the destination, then expedition cruising is for them. This panel discussion focuses on the growth in expedition cruising as more travellers choose experiential travel. Even those who love traditional cruising can be swept away by the experience of an expedition and there are certain destinations that just lend themselves to this unique enriching holiday experience.
| Moderator: | Aaron Russ, General Manager, Wild Earth Travel & Commercial Director, Heritage Expeditions |
| Panellists: | Mick Fogg, Director of Expeditions and Destination Development APAC, Ponant |
| Jeff Gillies, Commercial Director, Coral Expeditions | |
| Annie Inglis, Marine Biologist, Quark Expeditions | |
| Steve McLaughlin, Director of Sales APAC, Aurora Expeditions |
One of the greatest skills travel industry professionals must continue to have, is the ability to deal with (more!) change. We know we cannot control what will happen to the industry, all we can do is control how we respond to it. When we embrace self-leadership strategies, it gives us the courage and the confidence to maximise the opportunities in the obstacles that we can’t control. This leads to us growing as professionals and becoming better leaders, better mentors, better colleagues and better humans. Join Heidi Dening, best-selling author and award-winning educator, for this inspiring keynote presentation which will empower you to find the courage to build resilience so you can better deal with changes, stress and uncertainty, and turn the obstacles around you into opportunities.
| Panellists: | Heidi Dening |
*Program session information is current as of 10 August 2022 and is subject to change.
The 2022 Cruise360 Conference plenary session will run from 8:30am to 5:00pm. The Trade Show and Networking will be open during morning tea, lunch and networking drinks, which will run between 5:00pm and 7:00pm.
