Advantage Travel Partnership has claimed an “industry first” with the creation of a cruise advisory board

The consortium said the board will bring together agents, CLIA representatives and influential leaders within the cruise sector to “address the strategic opportunities and challenges that will define cruising over the next decade”.

Meeting twice a year, each session will be built around a strategic theme and supported by expert insights and guest speakers.

Membership is by invitation only and currently includes Judith Alderson, Dawson & Sanderson; Tricia Lester, Ashdown Travel; Claire Stirrup, Celebrity Cruises; Eithne Williamson, Princess Cruises; Vicky Billing, Riviera Travel; Mark Walter, HX Expeditions; Tony Roberts, Imagine Cruising; Victoria Sanders, News UK and Times Holidays; Andy Harmer, CLIA; and Jasman Ahmad, Accord Marketing.

The first meeting will take place in July.

Advantage said the board marks a “significant step forward in how the industry approaches long-term strategic thinking in the cruise sector”, with the board focusing on the strategic opportunities and challenges shaping the industry over the next five to 10 years.

Jonny Peat, director of cruise at Advantage, said: “This is not simply another industry committee. It is an exclusive, invitation-only forum where the most senior decision-makers, innovators and thought leaders in our sector will convene twice a year to interrogate the fundamental questions shaping our industry’s long term trajectory and leave equipped with insights that directly inform their own strategic vision and planning.

“The response from those invited to join our advisory board has been overwhelmingly positive and we have every confidence that this forum will become a genuine catalyst for meaningful, lasting change across every facet of the cruise ecosystem.”