Celestyal executives jetted into Sydney for a spring fling this week. Celestyal Chief Commercial Officer Lee Haslett and Vice President Business Development Janet Parton flew down from their head office in the UK for Cruise360 and enjoyed a few extra days of glorious spring weather while they wined and dined Australian travel agents, distribution partners, industry leaders and media.
Following a panel appearance at Cruise360, where Lee discussed the importance of new-to-cruise customers, the Celestyal executives climbed the Harbour Bridge and visited the Hunter Valley, then took media on a ‘Taste of Celestyal’ tour with Gourmet Safaris in Sydney.
Similar to Celestyal’s authentic excursions, which are led by knowledgeable ‘insider’ guides, the local food tour visited family-run businesses, offering a taste of Greece, Italy and the Middle East in Sydney. It was a celebration of the cruise line’s new year-round program offering the best of the Aegean, Adriatic and Arabian Gulf.
With ambitious growth plans for the Australian market, Lee and Janet, along with Celestyal Regional Manager Stewart Williams and Australian Business Development Manager Mary Williams, hosted more than 20 partners and industry stalwarts at a lavish dinner at Crown Sydney’s Woodcut restaurant.
Among those attending were Executive General Manager TravelManagers Australia Michael Gazal, Managing Director Cruise Lines International Association Australasia Joel Katz, Managing Director Entire Travel Group Brad McDonald, General Manager Sun Island Tours John Polyviou, CEO itravel Steve Labroski, Managing Director CATO Brett Jardine, Commercial Relationship Manager Helloworld Travel Jan Harrington and Head of Product Cruise at CruiseHQ Carina Mullen.
To top off their Sydney visit, Lee and Janet spent a final evening at the Sydney Opera House, toasting top selling travel agents at Opera Bar before taking them to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard in the Joan Sutherland theatre.
“Australia is a key growth market for Celestyal – we have ambitious plans to double Australian bookings next year and our travel agent partners are critical to our growth plans, with the vast majority of our business coming via our trade channels. Through our dedicated trade team and investment in the market we’re confident we can work with our agent partners to achieve this target. We’re also investing in our training and engagement platforms offering new tools, assets and incentives to ensure our agent partners have everything they need to sell Celestyal cruises,” Lee said.
“We think Celestyal is the perfect product for Aussies and they will come back again and again once they experience our destination-rich itineraries, our relaxed and fun onboard atmosphere, our authentic ‘insider’ shore experiences, and our affordable and value-packed way to cruise the Aegean, Adriatic and Arabian Gulf.”
For more information visit the Celestyal trade portal, contact a local Celestyal business development representative or call 1800 648 737.
.jpg){kind=tracking}
