Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines & Air France/KLM have been confirmed as event partners with Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The partnerships will enhance the carriers’ brand awareness across the cruise industry, bringing them into CLIA’s wider community of cruise lines, travel agents and executive partners.
CLIA Collective Joint Venture
The airlines are part of a collective joint venture and their agreements with CLIA comprise:
- Headline sponsorship of CLIA Conference 2024. The conference will be held from May 23-25 in Southampton and is the largest annual travel agent event of its kind in Europe. It will include ship visits, conference sessions, an industry trade fair and a celebratory evening event.
- Virgin Atlantic will sponsor this year’s CLIA Cruise Forum on December 19 in Windsor. The forum is a major event in the travel calendar, offering a one-day seminar and networking opportunities for 100+ senior travel agents, agency managers and owners, as well as business executives and media.
- Air France/KLM are the official airline partner for the CLIA RiverView 2024 Conference. It will take place from March 11-13 in Amsterdam and highlight the latest river cruise ships, information and selling advice. The conference will include multiple ship visits, key speaker sessions and a networking trade fair. Air France / KLM are offering discounted airfares from UK to Amsterdam for all delegates
All three events have sold out. The airlines will have networking stands at the events, and their branding will be displayed across associated assets and online platforms.
A host of other activities with CLIA have also been agreed, including:
- A recent webinar with all four airlines, which included brand overviews, trade-friendly advice and sales tips. The session is available here.
- Having further content feature online, including brand profiles, trade-friendly news and updates, and contact details.
- Brand insight and information in CLIA’s agent newsletters, podcasts and marketing materials.
Andy Harmer, CLIA UK & Ireland managing director, said: “Fly cruise continues to increase in popularity for UK and Ireland guests, so our agreement with Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Air France and KLM is perfectly-timed to capitalise on this demand. The airlines can further increase their awareness and exposure across the industry, while agents can benefit from their extensive flight availability and expertise.”
Nicki Goldsmith, Virgin Atlantic director of sales, said: “We are extremely excited to be joining the CLIA partnership as an extended joint venture. We know there is huge growth opportunity within the cruise industry across mainstream, luxury and river cruise and we are confident that Virgin Atlantic, Delta Air Lines, Air France and KLM can support this growth throughout our destinations and premium product offering for all cruise customers. We look forward to working with the cruise lines and cruise agents more closely.”
For more information, go to cruising.org
For More on CLIA
For more on CLIA, read ITTN’s feature on their recent Dublin event which includes updates from AE Expeditions, Azamara, APT Travelmarvel, Celebrity Cruises, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean International.
