Travel Weekly's CruiseWorld will gather more than 1,000 members of the travel industry to talk about trends for 2018 and beyond during the last travel agency event of the year, in Fort Lauderdale Nov. 15 to 17.
Discounted registration is available through November Nov. 1, after which rates increase to $249 for full conference access. If you have yet to register and really want a boost, secure this sale today.
"Every segment of our business was booming this year, with record bookings and an amazing head start on sales for 2018," said Alicia Evanko, senior vice president of events for Northstar Travel Group. "Mother Nature took over in the last few weeks and held us all hostage with sudden cancellations, rebookings and uncertainty. This, however, is a resilient industry, and consumers have every intention of traveling.
"We all need a boost of good news, networking and motivation to plan for a bright future."
At CruiseWorld, she said, "we will be welcoming more than 30 industry leaders to the general session stage and offering dozens of workshops led by experts, suppliers and travel agent professionals. The travel agency community showed its talent during this unprecedented hurricane season, and now we hope they can all come together and get excited about the future."
The show will include updates on global cruising, tours and destinations. Attendees will be able to choose from dozens of breakout sessions, supplier training options and certification programs. The one-day Exhibitor Showcase will welcome more than 150 suppliers representing air, car, hotel, cruise, destination, host agency, consortia, and business services.
Attendees can earn 25 CLIA credits, get Special Needs Group certification and Hawaii Specialist certification, undergo Travel Institute training and gain hands-on workshop training from nearly a dozen suppliers, including VAX Vacation Access, CCRA, Holland America Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Greater Fort Lauderdale, Israel Ministry of Tourism, Anchorage, Avalon Waterways and Riviera River Cruises.
A series of tracks of peer workshops on Nov. 17 offer attendees the opportunity to focus on a specific growth area or mix and match however they please. Tracks include Customer Acquisition, Growth Markets, Marketing and Sales and Business Boost. Click here for more details.
A hallmark of the CruiseWorld general session includes one-on-one interviews conducted by Travel Weekly editor in chief Arnie Weissmann with the cruise industry's leading CEOs. Weissmann will be joined by Frank Del Rio, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, on Nov. 15; Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. CEO Richard Fain on Nov. 16; and Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corp., on Nov. 17.
CruiseWorld will kick off with a lively and entertaining Mastermind session, including eight of the top cruise industry sales and marketing executives. Speakers include Chris Austin, senior vice president of global marketing and sales for Seabourn Cruise Line; John Chernesky, vice president of North America sales for Princess Cruises and Cunard Line; Vicki Freed, senior vice president of trade support and service for Royal Caribbean International; Eva Jenner, vice president of sales for Holland America Line and Seabourn Cruise Line; Joe Jiffo, senior vice president of sales for MSC Cruises; Camille Olivere, senior vice president of sales for Norwegian Cruise Line; Adolfo Perez, vice president of trade and sales marketing for Carnival Cruise Line; and Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales, trade support and service for Celebrity Cruises.
New to this year's general session will be a series of TW Talks that will bring industry leaders to the stage for quick hitting thought-leadership presentations. TW Talks presenters include: Nexion's Jackie Friedman, Cruise Planners' Michelle Fee, Avoya's Scott Koepf, TPI's Jenn Lee, GIFTED Travel Network's Meredith Hill and CruiseOne Dream Vacation's Debbie Fiorino, Virtuoso travel agency owner Keith Waldon of Departure Lounge and Travel Weekly columnist and industry attorney Mark Pestronk.
To view the full program and register to attend, visit www.cruiseworldshow.com.