Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) today announced it had joined Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) as a regional member of Europe and Australasia.
This is the first time CMV has been a member of CLIA Australasia, with the cruise line re-joining the European arm after an absence of three years.
Chris Coates, CMV’s Group Commercial Director, commented, “With an expanding ocean fleet and international market presence, we believe the time is right to re-establish links with CLIA and the close working relationship previously enjoyed.
“The expansion of the global industry fleet and passenger distribution bring increased challenges, which we consider are best served with all stakeholders working together.”
CLIA Australasia Managing Director, Joel Katz, said the addition of CMV to CLIA’s membership highlighted the growing importance of cruising in the wider tourism industry.
“Cruise & Maritime Voyages has put particular focus on developing new destinations and regional itineraries,” Mr Katz said.
“It’s a great example of the expansion of cruise tourism into regional locations around Australasia and we’re delighted CMV has shown such a commitment to our part of the world.”
Dean Brazier, Managing Director of CMV Australia, said, “This announcement marks yet another milestone for our Australasian arm, which doubled capacity in the 2019-20 season with our newest addition, Vasco da Gama. We are thrilled to be a part of a proactive body that is advocating for the innovative and sustainable development of cruise tourism in Australasia.”
CMV is one of the few traditional-style cruise lines operating small to mid-sized ships in Australasia offering guests the opportunity to visit some truly distinctive holiday destinations.
Darren Chigwidden, CMV’s National Sales Manager (AU & NZ) said, “Joining CLIA signifies the company’s commitment to its travel agent partners and cruise specialists throughout Australasia. We look forward to continuing to share the CMV experience with our agents and enabling them to earn CLIA points through CLIA’s online training, familiarisation trips, ship inspections and CMV-led training events.”
CMV currently operates a fleet of six ocean vessels with two more ships being introduced in 2021, increasing global passenger capacity to 200,000.
CMV’s network of international sales offices has recently increased with the opening, earlier this month, of an office in Marseille to support the re-deployment of Astor in 2021 to the French market.
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