CLIA has announced that three virtual training sessions, aimed at travel agents who are new to selling cruise, will be held in November.

All will be free of charge and will take under 30 minutes to complete, the association said. 

The sessions will be hosted by UK & Ireland MD Andy Harmer, with “support from experts across the industry”. 

The events will consist of the following:

• 10 November: Why sell cruise?
• 17 November: Getting started
• 24 November: The power of switch selling

CLIA added that it has recently “ramped up its new-to-selling-cruise information and guidance”, alongside other initiatives including a ‘cruise daily’ news section on its website, a set of four selling guides and a range of other online resources.

CLIA increasing level of support

Harmer said: “We fully appreciate the industry is welcoming a number of new travel agents who may be selling cruise for the first time, and want to offer them the support and resources that will allow them to seize the opportunities available.

“Our November training sessions are a valuable part of this programme, and we would encourage everyone from across the trade who wants to sell cruises for the first time, or wants to sell more, to join us. We are committed to helping them however we can.”

The 2023 CLIA Conference will be held from 12-14 May in Southampton, featuring multiple ship visits, conference sessions, a trade fair and a gala dinner.

Speaking in September, Harmer added: “After the huge success of this year’s conference we’re excited to offer a similarly informative and engaging line-up in 2023.

“The first-hand insight agents gain from ship visits is unbeatable, while the networking opportunities on offer at the trade fair and dinner are invaluable.”