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Sarina Bratton keynote speaker at New Zealand Cruise Association’s 2022 conference

Ponant Asia Pacific Chairman Sarina Bratton will be a keynote speaker at the New Zealand Cruise Association’s 2022 annual conference in Auckland on August 18.

Helen Hutcheon, Australasia correspondent

May 31, 2022

1 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the conference has been cancelled for the last two years.

Cruise Lines International Association Australasia MD Joel Katz and the Australian Cruise Association’s CEO Jill Abel will also take centre stage.

‘We are all very much looking forward to finally coming face-to-face and we can’t wait to see everyone in Auckland,’ NZCA chairman Debbie Summers said.

‘Panel discussions are sure to be lively and include some provocative and challenging hot topics,’ Summers said.

Ponant’s return

Bratton describes New Zealand as ‘a land of great tourism opportunity’ and will speak about ‘Our Journey Back to New Zealand.’

Ponant returns there when Le Soléal arrives in Auckland from Noumea on December 2. She sails that day on a 13-day ‘Natural Treasures of New Zealand’ voyage to Dunedin, calling at Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier, Wellington, Picton, Kaikoura and Akaroa and cruises Doubtful and Milford Sounds.

Stringent health protocols

Addressing ‘Cruising for Health and Sustainability,’ Katz will explain how the cruise industry’s worldwide focus on science-based health measures have resulted in lower rates of serious illness and hospitalisation than on land.

Two neighbours

‘A Tale of Two Neighbours’ is Abel’s topic and she will focus on the importance of New Zealand and Australia working together as a region to grow cruise.

About the Author

Helen Hutcheon

Australasia correspondent

Helen Hutcheon did her cadetship on a shipping magazine and worked in P&O’s Sydney office for seven years as a public relations journalist.

For 19 years she was deputy editor of Travel Week, which was Australia’s leading trade newspaper that covered major local and international industry events.

In 2008 the late legendary Rama Rebbapragada presented her with an award from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ‘in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cruising industry.’

In 2010 she won the Neil Frazer Award for ‘outstanding contribution to the cruise industry,’ elevating her to CLIA Australasia’s hall of fame.

She has been the Australasia correspondent for Seatrade Cruise Review since 1997 and for Seatrade Insider (now Seatrade Cruise News) since its launch in 2000.

 

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