The cruise industry’s peak annual conference Cruise360 Australasia will move to Brisbane next year as Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) celebrates Queensland’s growing importance in the cruise sector.
At the closure of this year’s Cruise360 in Sydney today, CLIA Managing Director Australasia Joel Katz announced the event would move to Queensland in 2020 to help mark the upcoming opening of the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal at Luggage Point.
The conference will be held at Brisbane’s Royal International Convention Centre on Friday August 28, 2020, and will attract hundreds of travel agents from around Australia and New Zealand, as well as key cruise industry executives and international speakers. It will be the first time the event has been held outside Sydney in its seven-year history.
“With the spotlight now firmly on Brisbane, the cruise industry believes 2020 is the perfect time to bring our Cruise360 Australasia conference to the Queensland capital,” Mr Katz said.
“Brisbane has become one of Australia’s most important cruise destinations and the opening of its new International Cruise Terminal late next year will cement its position as a leading port in the South Pacific region,” he said. “Cruise tourism supports thousands of jobs in Queensland and the investment Brisbane is making in new infrastructure will help ensure it enjoys even greater economic benefit well into the future.”
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said attracting this conference to Queensland for the first time reflected the strong growth of Queensland’s cruise industry.
“Queensland’s cruise industry is growing rapidly and worth $1.1 billion to the state’s economy,” Ms Jones said.
“Bringing this conference to Queensland will allow us to showcase our world-class tourism offerings and Brisbane’s new International Cruise Terminal due to open next year to key industry representatives. We are constantly looking for opportunities to grow our cruise industry to ensure we are meeting the needs of cruise travellers and look forward to sharing these with conference delegates next year.”
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said hosting the Cruise360 Australasia conference for the first time would reinforce Brisbane’s growing appeal as a destination of choice.
“Cruise360 Australasia will present an ideal opportunity for Brisbane to showcase its credentials as a top cruise destination to leading travel professionals at a time when our city is flourishing with new tourism infrastructure and attracting record numbers of visitors,” Cr Schrinner said. “Securing business events aligned to key growth sectors such as tourism is a priority for Brisbane as Australia’s new world city, and we look forward to hosting the industry at one of our city’s leading conference venues.”
Cruise360 Australasia is held annually by CLIA and is the cruise industry’s peak annual forum for sharing ideas, knowledge and visions for the future. The full-day event offers a program of top international speakers from across the cruise and tourism industries, as well as a trade show for cruise industry exhibitors.
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