It has been a trifecta for the regional industry, a run of three winning events.
Welcoming 130 delegates to ACA 2022 at The Ville Resort-Casino in Townsville, including representatives of Fiji and Papua New Guinea, CEO Jill Abel said ‘it took three attempts to get us all here, but the important thing is that we are finally here.’
Biggest lineup
Abel said the annual conference had attracted the largest lineup of cruise executives in 24 years — Marguerite Fitzgerald, president of Carnival Australia and P&O Cruises Australia; Stuart Allison, SVP Asia Pacific, UK & Europe for Princess Cruises; Gavin Smith, VP and MD of Royal Caribbean Cruises Australia; Tim Jones, VP & MD Australia and APAC for Celebrity Cruises; Sarina Bratton, Ponant chairman Asia Pacific and Mark Fifield, group GM of Coral Expeditions.
‘We are so lucky to have such a wealth of global and local knowledge in the room today, reflecting such a unified approach to the cruise restart in our region,’ Abel said.
She said ACA will focus on three major areas — the recognition of cruising, advocating and educating and anchoring trusted partner relationships.
Refreshed MOU with CLIA
To reinforce the latter, ACA signed a refreshed memorandum of understanding with CLIA at the conference.
The outgoing chairman of the New Zealand Cruise Association and current board member Debbie Summers gave an update on the industry in New Zealand.
Summers said NZCA has been holding workshops around the country, listening to the concerns of communities about the return of cruising.
Fewer coach companies
She said a chronic shortage of staff is a major challenge and, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are fewer coach companies right now.
‘We may have to create shore excursions that involve only a short walk from the ship,’ she quipped.
‘The speed of demand recovery has taken many of us by surprise.’
However, she said, the positive news is that Auckland will be visited by a total of 42 ships, carrying 253,600 passengers and 112,517 crew, in the coming 2022/23 season.
‘Let us embrace our new beginnings.’ she said.
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