| ACA Update – 12 May 16 : Industry Workshops Mean Business

YESTERDAY Tourism Events
Queensland (TEQ) held a cruise
industry workshop in Brisbane
supported by the Australian Cruise
Association. It kicked off a series
of similar events which will roll out
around Australia through major
capital cities and regional centres
The purpose of the workshops is
to expose the wide range of new
destination experiences on offer
to the cruise lines and key ground
handlers such as Abercrombie and
Kent, Intercruises and Bob Wood
Cruise Group.
ACA will partner with the State and
Regional Tourism Organisations in
each location. Yesterday’s event
was spearheaded by Julie O’Brien,
Destination and Experience
Development Specialist, TEQ. Julie
has been a strong advocate for
the industry in Qld for many years
helping to grow their cruise business
substantially.
Over 20 operators representing a
diverse cross section of the industry
attended the Brisbane gathering.
They included Mantra Hotels,
Gladstone Area Promotion and
Development Ltd which has recently
welcomed its first cruise ship visits
to their port, and Queensland Rail.
Activity operators, wineries, resorts
and RTOs also attended.
The workshops form part of
an overarching Destination
Development Plan by the Australian
Cruise Association to broaden the
cruising experience into exciting
and authentic land based activities
that tell the story of Australia.
This will ultimately benefit cruise
passengers who will be able to
immerse themselves fully in the
destinations and take home a greater
understanding of all there is to see
and do on a visit.
The next workshop will be held in
Melbourne in July.

CONTRIBUTOR: Jill Abel, CEO, Australian Cruise Association