Advantage Travel Partnership launches industry-first cruise advisory board

Exclusive, invitation-only forum set to shape the future of cruising over the next decade

At its annual conference in Madrid today, Advantage Travel Partnership has announced an industry-first collaboration: a Cruise Advisory Board that has been designed to bring together the travel agency community, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and some of the sector’s most influential leaders to address the strategic opportunities and challenges that will define cruising over the next decade.

The Board marks a significant step forward in how the industry approaches long-term strategic thinking in the cruise sector, with the Board focusing on the strategic opportunities and challenges shaping the future of cruising over the next five to ten years.

Meeting twice a year, each session will be built around a clearly defined strategic theme, supported by expert insights and guest speakers. Members of the founding cohort will have the opportunity to contribute their expertise to key industry conversations, gain access to cross-sector thinking, and connect with a carefully selected group of peers navigating the same challenges.

Jonny Peat, Director of Cruise at Advantage Travel Partnership, said: "This is not simply another industry committee. It is an exclusive, invitation-only forum where the most senior decision-makers, innovators and thought leaders in our sector will convene twice a year to interrogate the fundamental questions shaping our industry's long-term trajectory, and leave equipped with insights that directly inform their own strategic vision and planning.

The response from those invited to join our Advisory Board has been overwhelmingly positive, and we have every confidence that this forum will become a genuine catalyst for meaningful, lasting change across every facet of the cruise ecosystem."

Membership of the Cruise Advisory Board is by invitation only. Board members confirmed to date with more to follow, include:

• Judith Alderson – Dawson & Sanderson
• Tricia Lester – Ashdown Travel
• Claire Stirrup – Celebrity Cruises
• Eithne Williamson – Princess Cruises
• Vicky Billing – Riviera Travel
• Mark Walter – HX Expeditions
• Tony Roberts – Imagine Cruising
• Victoria Sanders – News UK & Times Holidays
• Andy Harmer – CLIA
• Jasman Ahmad – Accord Marketing

The first Board meeting is due to take place in July.