CLIA President Praises Travel Advisors for Efforts to Resume U.S. Operations

Photo: Travel Weekly

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the leading voice of the global cruise industry, held its annual North America Cruise360 Conference at the Diplomat Resort in Hollywood Florida. 

The event took place 501 days following the cruise industry’s voluntary suspension of global operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and marked the first official, in-person cruise industry event in North America since 2019.

CLIA President and CEO Kelly Craighead delivered welcome remarks to conference attendees, highlighting the important role that travel advisors played in helping the cruise industry resume operations in the United States and calling on the community to remain actively engaged to address misperceptions and promote the proactive measures that cruise lines are taking to protect public health as sailing resumes.

Noting that CLIA met its stated goal of working with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support the responsible resumption of cruise operations in the United States by July, Craighead went on to recognize that obstacles remain and called on travel advisors to continue to use their voices as advocates for the industry.

The nearly 45,000 travel agents and agencies who are part of CLIA’s North America Travel Trade Membership represent the largest network of travel advisors specializing in cruise travel. 

The annual North America Cruise360 Conference offers CLIA travel trade members in the U.S. and Canada the opportunity to participate in training and networking events to help advisors grow their businesses and stay informed with the latest critical information and trends affecting the cruise industry.

Source: CLIA