source: e-Travel Blackboard<\/p>\n
Cruise1st launched its entry into the Australian market last night with executives claiming its presence will stimulate Australia\u2019s already mushrooming cruise industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more people that specialise in the cruise industry will only do good things for the cruise industry,\u201d International Cruise Council of Australasia General Manager Brett Jardine told e-Travel Blackboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cCruise1st is bringing a dynamic cruise packaging model to Australia and Australia is ready for it,\u201d Cruise1st General Manager Sandy Greenwood told guests.<\/p>\n
Held at Cruise Bar in Sydney\u2019s Overseas Passenger Terminal, Cruise1st\u2019s Australian launch was marked by all the kitsch and glamour associated with cruising, from sailor-suited students dancing to The Love Boat theme to lei-strewn guests sipping blue margaritas \u2013 all the launch was missing was someone smashing a bottle of bubbly against a wall.<\/p>\n
The Cruise1st website enables customers to book a complete fly, hotel stay and cruise package in one transaction.<\/p>\n
However, their direct to consumer website has not received a ready welcome by all, some fearing Cruise1st will poach business from established agents, reported local media.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that puts a ceiling on a market we know is growing rapidly,\u201d Ms Greenwood said, dismissing the claim.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to bring profitability to the Australian market,\u201d she assured.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the product [travel agents have] on offer and the service [they] provide represents good value, at the end of the day industry growth will feed industry growth,\u201d Mr Jardine said.<\/p>\n
The launch of Cruise1st Australia, the first headquarters outside of the UK, marks the beginning of the company\u2019s international growth.<\/p>\n
In Australia for the launch, Cruise1st Founder and Managing Director, Dan Townsley told reporters of plans to crack a further six markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cCruise1st is set to enter Germany by the end of year for launch in March 2011,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on funding we are also looking into Spain, Mexico, Poland, China and Brazil,\u201d Mr Townsley told e-Travel Blackboard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to grow the cruise industries in these countries. We are looking for growing markets, not ones that already exist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Guests of the Cruise1st launch were treated to fragments of a \u2018flashmob\u2019 \u2013 an impromptu performance in a public space \u2013 that greeted Sydney commuters at Circular Quay yesterday morning. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
source: e-Travel Blackboard Cruise1st launched its entry into the Australian market last night with executives claiming its presence will stimulate Australia\u2019s already mushrooming cruise industry. \u201cThe more people that specialise in the cruise industry will only do good things for the cruise industry,\u201d International Cruise Council of Australasia General Manager Brett Jardine told e-Travel Blackboard. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traveloscopy.com\/travel-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}