2016 Cruise awards

Over 500 guests from across the cruise industry attended the night of nights in February to celebrate the winners of the 15th Annual Cruise Industry Awards. Within a lavish setting at Sydney’s Star Event Centre, 19 awards were conferred across nine categories. Big winners on the night included WA based Bicton Travel who won Gold Agency of the Year, having now scooped this award a total of five times. Cruise Consultant of the Year was won by ecruising. travel’s Kara Lane, whilst the Rising Star Award went to Emma Dunn of Ozcruising. In other awards, Network Promotion of the Year Australasia went to Phil Hoffman Travel which created and delivered upon an ambitious Cruise Expo in South Australia exceeding projected attendance figures, customer bookings and revenue targets. It was a big night also for the MTA Mobile Travel Agent group with three of their consultants nominated for Home Based / Mobile Agent of the Year and Tracey Flower taking out the award. CLIA Australasia Chairman Gavin Smith said the 2015 awards dinner had been the best yet, with finalists and winners being recognised from right around Australia and New

Zealand. “Every year cruising in the Australasian region continues to evolve and it’s due to the tireless efforts of many in the industry. These awards are all about celebrating and applauding the hard work, passion and dedication of some of the most important players in the cruise industry – the travel agents who sell our cruises,” Smith said. The evening was also marked by the traditional induction into the Hall of Fame with Glen Moroney, founder and chairman of Scenic honoured for his pioneering work in river cruise. Guests were entertained by award winning artist Tina Arena with Channel 7’s ‘AFL Game Day’ host Hamish Mclachlan returning as master of ceremonies.