Speaking to the 450 delegates at Cruise360 Australasia at The Star Event Centre in Sydney on Friday, D’Aoust said the 24m passengers expected to cruise this year represents only about 2% of global holiday-makers.
She said there is unlimited potential for the continued growth of the cruise industry and that savvy travel agents will invest in CLIA training to get on the bandwagon.
‘If you specialise you will earn more,’ she said. ‘Invest in yourself.’
D'Aoust said giving back is important to CLIA and the audience was shown a video of Mercy Ships, CLIA’s charity of choice.
Steve Odell, the recently elected chairman of CLIA Australasia, told delegates that when he was chairman 10 years ago there were 221,033 Australian passengers, compared to more than a million now.
Odell, who is svp and md of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, said there is no question that Sydney, Australia’s premier port, needs another berth East of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
He said CLIA is doing everything possible to get the critical berth and that it is also involved in the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal review of fees for cruise ships in Sydney Harbour, ‘one of the most expensive ports in the world.’
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