CLIA to boost member benefits and refresh events in 2025
CLIA has announced plans to increase its benefits package for members and refresh its calendar of events in 2025
Following what it described as a “record” year in 2024, CLIA said it will refresh its events lineup to meet the demands of the travel agent community and reflect the ongoing development of the wider industry.
With an increasing cruise line membership across all sectors, CLIA will place its focus on a “diverse level” of travel agent expertise, from new-to-selling to experts.
The announcement comes as the group opens membership for 2025 in the UK & Ireland. Enhanced benefits include new events and resources, as well as the second wave of CLIA’s Expedition and River Cruise Champion Programmes.
Members will have the chance to join the RiverView Conference in March and the flagship CLIA Conference in May, which will include an add-on event – the Expedition Summit – as an alternative to those joining the New to Selling Cruise event. Both are optional and will take place prior to the conference.
The Expedition Champion and the River Champion hybrid learning programmes, new for autumn 2024, will get another outing in the second half of 2025 with a further intake of travel agent learners.
Furthermore, a new full day event – The Art of Selling Cruises – scheduled for the summer, will provide an industry-wide day of support to agents who wish to grow cruise sales.
Members will also be able to register for CLIA’s enhanced Cruise Forum residential events, each with a different sector focus, and access the trade section of CLIA’s website, cruising.org, which includes new-to-selling resources, destination and itinerary experience factsheets, cruise line brand profiles, incentives and offers, and online training and certification.
Agents who sign up to the organisation will also be able to view virtual ship tours; join and catch up on CLIA Presents webinars; and take part in a monthly ‘Focus On’ session, which looks at different sectors within the cruise market.
Andy Harmer, CLIA managing director for the UK & Ireland, said: “As the cruise industry continues to attract record numbers of passengers and expands its range of destinations even further on an ever wider range of ships, we’re ensuring we provide agents with more insight, resources and in-person opportunities than ever before.
“2025 is set to mark another milestone year in the cruise calendar, and we’re looking forward to working even more closely with our fantastic agent partners to develop their expertise and help them inspire travellers with unforgettable experiences.”
