CLIA Cruise360 Australasia, with the theme ‘Embrace the Future,’ is underway at Sydney’s International Convention Centre. 850 travel advisors and the trade are gathered for a day to discuss all things cruise.
The 2024 CLIA Cruise360 program, supported by headline sponsor Visit Qatar, began yesterday with, for the first time, a river cruising workshop hosted for advisors with approximately 200 guests in attendance.
It was followed by a welcome cocktail party celebration, supported by Norwegian Cruise Line, P&O Cruises Australia and Royal Caribbean International, hosted at Doltone House in Pyrmont.
Before today’s proceedings began, the crowd was treated to an energetic and lively dance performance to the tune of Uptown Funk by dancers from the Brent Street Performing Arts, which CLIA has been supporting for more than 30 years.
The 2024 CLIA Cruise360 has drawn the largest crowd in the event’s history, with trade in attendance from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, USA and the UK. Today’s program will include 28 speakers and six international leaders presenting today to attendees.
Master of Ceremonies for today’s conference program is corporate speaker, facilitator and comedian James O’Loghlin.
Joel Katz, Managing Director of CLIA Australasia & Asia, addressed attendees first, proud to announce that CLIA membership is now at record levels in Australia and New Zealand.
“Thank you for energy, professionalism and dedication to cruising,” he said.
“Australia will host a total of 62 cruise ships over the 2024-25 summer season, which is among the busiest schedules we’ve seen in local waters,” Katz said. “The number of ships is slightly down on the 70 hosted last year, but many are staying longer and making more port calls. The total number of visits will be up three per cent to 1,904 port calls, which creates enormous tourism opportunities for local communities,” he said.
Intention to cruise remains strong worldwide, including in Australia and New Zealand.
“Of Australian travellers who have cruised previously, 77 per cent say they will cruise again. Even among travellers who have never sailed before, 70 per cent say they are open to taking their first cruise. This is one of the most passionate cruise markets in the world,” he said.
Katz also addressed the challenges ahead.
“Nevertheless, while the market is strong, recent deployment announcements by cruise lines reflect the high cost of operating in this region and the impact of regulatory complexities. As a result, capacity in Australia is likely to remain static in the short term, and in New Zealand, it is notably down,” said Katz.
“This is where CLIA is particularly active – alongside our cruise lines, we are working with governments at national and regional levels on both sides of the Tasman. Our aim is to secure the right regulatory
settings that will allow cruising to thrive into the future in a well-managed way – and we work with a strong community of stakeholders and supporters as we do so.
Speaking of its sustainability goals, Katz said:
“Every new ship coming to service takes us further towards our sustainability goals. Each one is more efficient than those it supersedes, bringing more efficient propulsion systems, new fuels, better energy management, and the newest technologies,” said Katz.
Katz addressed the issue of overtourism and the industry’s path to net zero emissions by 2050, talking about the opportunities that cruises can represent to markets.
“Cruise tourism represents less than two per cent of world tourism. However, cruise tourism also offers enormous economic benefits and employment, and it costs advantages because, after all, cruise tourism is managed tourism – it is planned tourism and scheduled years in advance.
“Cruise tourism allows destinations and cruise lines to work together collaboratively to manage visitation, scheduling and dispersal while maximising the economic benefits. CLIA plays an important role in working with our cruise line members and the destinations to support the responsible management of cruise tourism, and this will continue to be a key focus in our industry as we work to create solutions in tourism management, demonstrate our environmental progress and bring real economic benefits to communities around the world,” he said.
Richard Styles from Visit Qatar, as the headline sponsor, also addressed guests, sharing that Australia is the number one source market for ‘the world’s best value stopover’, a partnership with Qatar Airways and Discover Qatar.
Globally, visitation is up 28 per cent, and from Australia, up 39 per cent,” said Styles.
Qatar Airways flies to 170 destinations with 42 weekly flights out of Australia.
“We just got told walking in today that there’s going to be some ripper details coming out of Qatar over the next couple of months, so watch this space,” he said.
State of the Industry Panel: Forces Shaping the Global and Australian Cruise Market
The first session this morning was on the State of the Industry. James O’Loughlin moderated the panel of speakers: Deb Corbett, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific at Ponant; Ben Angell, Vice President and Managing Director of Asia Pacific at Norwegian Cruise Line; and Gavin Smith, Vice President and Marketing Director of Royal Caribbean.
Corbett said they are seeing international demand increase in tropical destinations.
“The greatest opportunity for that is we can further develop luxury exploration travel.. in style and remote and regional areas – and most of them are inaccessible for day-trippers. We’re also seeing land and sea experiences in Papua New Guinea, East Indonesia and Raja Ampat becoming more popular. Lastly, exclusive access… guests are continually asking about it,” said Corbett.
Ben Angell said that while there’s a lot of conversation around some of the challenges, one of the largest opportunities for growth is sourcing guests for travel.
“There’s no shortage of amazing products and experiences. I think we’ve got to expand our thinking outside of home port and domestic,” said Angell.
Meanwhile, Peter Little spoke about the growth in getaway cruises.
“It’s driven by multi-generational families all wishing to get away on a cruise to cater for all needs. Cruising is still fantastic value. We’re seeing growth in that short cruise framework in this region, and we’re also seeing growth in boomers looking for experiential holidays,” said Little.
Gavin Smith spoke about the brands’ ability to differentiate.
“We’ve converting through all manners of ways that we transact… they know what they’re buying. Younger guests are buying shorter cruises, and this local market becomes the ‘on-ramp’.
“We’re seeing this multi-generational travel continue to be prolific around the world. I think we’re seeing durations fall and that we’re becoming more of a weekend-to-weekend travel market. But certainly, the trend of early booking, and as we’d say in years gone by, ‘booking ‘up the ship,” said Smith.
Karryon’s coverage of CLIA Cruise360 will continue.
