CLIA and MedCruise are working together on the initiative that aims to bring the industry closer to travel agents.
The first results of this strategic partnership between CLIA Europe and MedCruise were revealed on November 24th in Paris.
During a special event, which took place on board the MS Botticelli of CroisiEurope, the CruiseExperts program was launched by the associations representing cruise lines and Medcruise cruise ports.
With the implementation of this initiative, CLIA Europe and MedCruise are working together to create a learning platform focused on travel agents in France. This project aims to engage, educate, and certify the travel agent community, contributing to the growth of the cruise industry and jointly promoting all MedCruise member ports.
The program brings together the cruise industry in France with a single objective: to increase the number of cruise passengers. The number of French passengers taking a cruise in 2014 increased by almost 14%, reaching 593,000 cruise passengers.
Carla Salvadó, president of Medcruise, explained the main objectives of this joint initiative, and highlighted the importance that MedCruise assigns to the development of this strategic collaboration with CLIA Europe.
Anne-Sophie Peyran, Director of Professional Development, Port Marketing for the French Riviera, and Communications Manager at Medcruise, participated in the discussions, highlighting the importance of these types of initiatives for French ports. The event was also attended by other executives representing Medcruise ports in France.
In 2016, events will be held to strengthen industry knowledge, focusing on travel agents. These will support the development of the online portal, bringing together cruise line executives and industry partners to train more travel agencies on all aspects of the cruise product.
The CruiseExperts platform
The Cruise Experts online platform is organized into three distinct parts. The Learning Academy provides nearly 90 cruise and cruise sales training modules, along with a resource center containing in-depth reports and statistics. The Cruise Toolbox offers resources to assist agents throughout the sales process, including a digital brochure catalog, Factsheets , an updated search engine specifically designed for the cruise industry, and the CLIA Destination Guide. The third area is the CLIA Cruise Daily, which features the latest cruise news and columns by special guests. Finally, there is an up-to-date calendar of cruise industry events for travel agents.
