Cruiseabout Takes Home Top Honours at Cruise Awards

Media Release
11 March 2014

Cruiseabout Takes Home Top Honours at Cruise Awards

• Cruiseabout NZ celebrate after receiving top accolades at the esteemed CLIA annual awards
• Cruiseabout Howick awarded Cruise Agency of the Year New Zealand - Silver
• Victoria Sherry, Cruiseabout Ponsonby, wins Rising Star NZ Award
• Figures show that in the 2013-2014 season the cruise sector contributed $365.3 million to New Zealand’s economy, Auckland received the lion’s share of that ($159.1m)

Cruiseabout NZ is celebrating after receiving top accolades at the esteemed Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) annual awards ceremony.

Cruiseabout Howick took out top honours winning the silver award for Cruise Agency of the Year. Cruiseabout nation leader, Sean Berenson, said it was a fantastic achievement for a relatively new store and a real credit to the team.

“Cruiseabout stands out because of our broad range of product and expertise within the industry. For a store that’s only been open for two years this is a great achievement and it displays the importance of excellent customer service and maintaining great supplier relationships.”

Also celebrating is Cruiseabout Ponsonby who saw consultant, Victoria Sherry, take out the title of Rising Star of the Year.

Ms Sherry is thrilled with being awarded such a prestigious award, “I’m extremely passionate about cruising and to be able to share my expertise while building long-term relationships with my clients is an absolute honour.”

Mr Berenson says “the award is testament to Ms Sherrys hard work and commitment to her clients and I’m very proud to see one of our own rise to the top.”

“This is the third consecutive year that a Cruiseabout consultant has received the Rising Star of the Year award, it’s great to see that the training and investment that we put into our consultants really pays off and that they are experts in their field,” Mr Berenson said.

The demand for cruising continues to grow year on year, figures from CLIA show that in the 2013-2014 season the cruise sector contributed $365.3 million to New Zealand’s economy and that is forecast to swell dramatically to $421.5 million in the next two years.

Mr Berenson says “the continuing demand for cruise holidays is largely due to consumer confidence, affordability and the increasing variety of cruise holidays that are available.”

It is estimated that the cruise sector supported 6,818 jobs in New Zealand in the 2013-2014 season. Of the season’s total spend Auckland received the lion’s share of that ($159.1m).

A record 23 million passengers are expected to sail in 2015 with the Asia Pacific region currently accounting for almost 10% of the global market, making it the world’s fastest growing cruise region. Current hot cruise destinations include Australia, the South Pacific, the Mediterranean and Alaska.

- ENDS -

© Scoop Media