CLIA announces #LoveCruise theme for 2022 conference
The 14th annual travel agent event takes place in Southampton from May 20-22 and includes three ship visits
CLIA UK & Ireland has announced that the theme of its 2022 conference will be #LoveCruise.
Now in its 14th year, the conference takes place in Southampton from May 20-22. It is the largest annual travel agent event of its kind in the UK and will include a trade fair, daily conference sessions and a gala dinner.
Andy Harmer, CLIA UK & Ireland managing director, said: “We are delighted to announce the #LoveCruise theme of the CLIA Conference 2022. The event will recognise the potential our industry offers for growth and the new business openings for travel agent partners. It will also outline the opportunities for those holidaymakers who have yet to cruise to take their first holiday on the oceans and rivers.
“CLIA Conference is the ultimate destination for all travel agents who want to grow their business and fall in love with this amazing sector, whether for the first time, or all over again!”
During the first day of the conference, travel agents will get the chance to visit MSC Virtuosa, followed by a trade fair. The second day will include a visit to P&O Cruises’ Iona, with an evening gala dinner, while the final day will be held on board Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas.
The event is open to CLIA member travel agents, with registration available via cruising.org. Details of venues and speakers will be announced soon.
Celebrity offers agents a range of inclusive and diverse images
American recording artist John Forté and his family, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. (Credit: Celebrity Cruises / Annie Leibovitz)
The line has launched the All-Inclusive Photo Project to help tackle “the lack of diversity in travel marketing imagery”
Celebrity Cruises has launched a new initiative allowing agents to use a range of diverse and inclusive images taken by well-known photographers for free.
The All-Inclusive Photo Project (AIPP) has been launched in an attempt to tackle “the lack of diversity in travel marketing imagery”.
The line claims it is the world’s first free ‘open source’ travel image library. It said it “aims to start a movement”, by making dozens of images available for travel brands and companies to use, “to help kickstart their journeys towards more inclusive travel marketing”.
The images have been taken by photographers including Annie Leibovitz, a famed American portrait photographer; Giles Duley, an English documentary photographer and a triple amputee; Naima Green, a Black, queer New York-based photographer; and Jarrad Seng, an Australia-based photographer, filmmaker and creative director of Malaysian-Chinese descent.
The collection features models, musicians, athletes, artists, activists and refugees from underrepresented groups, all enjoying Celebrity ships and destinations the line visits.
A statement from the line said: “Celebrity Cruises is committed to educating and empowering agents and their support in showcasing diverse and inclusive imagery where possible is critical to truly effect change.”
Agents can access the images on Celebrity Central, and they will also be promoted on the Celebrity Cruises’ UK Travel Agents Facebook Page with shareable content.
On Celebrity Central agents can also access a dedicated LGBTQ+ Toolkit, designed to help them understand everything the line offers LGBTQ+ guests, including sales and marketing materials and training.
Travel brands keen to use the AIPP library can visit allinclusivephotoproject.com
Celebrity Cruises president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said: “For far too long, ‘all-inclusive’ in the travel industry has meant everything on your vacation is included in one price. We set out to challenge this conventional thinking by imagining the phrase through the lens of others. What Annie [Leibovitz] and all of the talented artists involved in this project have captured so beautifully, is that for vacations to really live up to the marketing moniker ‘all-inclusive,’ then they should start by using images that are inclusive of all, not just a few.”
Chief marketing officer Michael Scheiner added: “As global brands, we have a powerful platform to act as a catalyst of positive change. We know we have more work to do and we hope we inspire others to join us on this important journey. By leveraging our collective travel industry might, we can begin to make travel marketing truly ‘all-inclusive’.”
Celebrity will launch the AIPP collection as a dedicated brand advertising campaign this month. In March the line unveiled details of the entertainment on its new ship, Celebrity Beyond.