CLIA confirms 2024 conference dates
Event will take place from May 23-25 in 2024
CLIA UK & Ireland has confirmed that its 2024 conference will be in Southampton from May 23-25.
The conference is the largest annual travel agent event in Europe and the 16th to take place. It will include ship visits, conference sessions and an industry trade fair as well as a celebratory evening event.
Agents will be able to visit two ships over consecutive days, from a total selection of six.
The ships on offer will include Cunard’s Queen Anne, Silversea’s Silver Dawn and Princess Cruises’ Sky Princess.
There will also be a New to Selling Cruise Day on May 22, after the successful launch of the event in 2023.
Andy Harmer, CLIA UK & Ireland managing director, said: “Our 2024 conference will be our biggest yet, with more ships, an extended land programme on offer, as well as the optional training day for agents just starting out on their cruise sales journey. As holidays at sea continue to flourish, we’re excited to confirm our popular conference mainstays will again take place, including the trade fair and celebratory evening event.
“The first-hand insight agents gain from ship visits is unbeatable, while the networking opportunities on offer over the event will be invaluable. We can’t wait to welcome partners from across the trade once again.”
Details of the theme and keynote speakers will be announced in due course.
For more information, visit cruising.org
Titan Travel’s inaugural private jet adventure takes off
The programme will take in destinations including Rome
Titan Travel, the UK-based tour operator, has seen its first ever private jet holiday take to the skies.
The 23-day ‘Captivating Cultures’ programme, which will take in destinations including Rome and Rajasthan, took off from Stansted Airport’s private terminal.
There are five cabin crew and a flight deck of three pilots. Also on board throughout are three expert tour managers and an aviation specialist operations director who will ensure every step of the tour is seamless.
Saga Travel Group’s CEO, John Constable (pictured above), and marketing director, Lisa Warner were on hand to see the group off on their travels. Constable said: “We’re delighted that our inaugural private jet tour has taken to the skies, and we wish all our guests an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
“They were in high-spirits as they boarded, looking forward to the next 23-days and nine cultural destinations from Petra to the Taj Mahal and Samarkand. We can’t wait to hear all their stories when they return!”
Jenny from Yorkshire, who is a guest on the tour, said: “We chose this holiday for the experience as the itinerary looks fabulous. It’s absolutely, hassle-free luxury.
“We look for holidays that excite us and this has a great balance of touring, but over a longer period so it’s a perfect combination. When we first saw it online, we just said, “that’s got our name written all over it!”
After departing London, the tour headed first to Rome and will conclude in Istanbul on October 5, stopping along the way in Montenegro, Jordan, India and Uzbekistan. There will be once-in-a-lifetime experiences, many of which will be exclusive to the group including a visit to the Vatican before it opens, cruising in the breathtaking Bay of Kotor, visiting iconic Petra and sitting under the stars in Wadi Rum desert. India involves a tour of the Palace of the Winds, game drives in search of tigers and dawn views of the Taj Mahal.
The group will also dine overlooking Uzbekistan’s beautiful city of Samarkand and explore Istanbul’s highlights before a farewell dinner to remember.
The flight times range between 1 hour and 16 minutes, and 5 hours and 53 minutes.
Titan is repeating the Captivating Cultures private jet tour in September 2024, and also has a 21-day round-the-world tour that departs in November 2024 and takes in Rio de Janeiro, Easter Island, Fiji, Sydney, Siem Reap, Agra, Delhi and the Maasai Mara. Titan, the UK’s most awarded tour operator, is also set to launch a new 2025 Spice Route private jet tour shortly.
Constable continued: “The Captivating Cultures private jet tour has proved incredibly popular and was 70% sold within two months of opening for sale, so we are hosting another one next year, along with a round-the-world option. There’s also a 2025 Spice Route launching on sale in the coming weeks, which we’ve already had significant pre-registrations for.”