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	Corporate Contact: Maureen McKeon  press@seasite.com 305-403-4002

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MIAMI, FL (April 20, 2010) – A leading force in the world of cruise meetings and incentive cruises, Jo Kling, CEO of Seasite, was recently invited to the Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) Travel Agent Advisory Board, to represent the corporate/incentive market.

Serving through 2012, Kling will provide a seasoned perspective on cruise industry issues and trends as they relate to meeting professionals, and will serve as a CLIA spokesperson on cruise meetings as she is the only one on the 23-member TAAB exclusively representing the cruise meetings/incentive market. Other members represent the entire spectrum of cruise selling operations, from the Host Agencies to independent home-based retailers and online agencies, to major “bricks and mortar” travel retailers.

 “I hope to hear from cruise meeting specialists and incentive cruise buyers so I can represent their interests on this board to the 25 member cruise lines.” said Kling.  “The potential in the meeting and incentive market is huge, and if all of us who are devoting resources to this sector work closely together with the cruise lines we can really make a difference.”

Last year 14 new ships entered service, 12 more will be christened in 2010, and another 9 new ships will appear in 2011. New sources of cruise passengers are needed to fill this capacity so cruise lines are more eager than ever to attract meeting & incentive groups. There’s evidence of this in their affordable group package-pricing, more short itineraries, more US home ports, and now – they’ve added the first representative of the corporate/incentive market to the CLIA advisory board.

Kling was invited to the CLIA board because she and business partner, Joyce Landry, have been advocates of cruise meetings since 1982 and were inducted into the 2009 CLIA Hall of Fame for their pioneering role in this sector.  Also in 2009, they launched Seasite.com, the first online cruise portal for meeting and event planners. Through this industry tool, event planners of all kinds now have easy access to 35 cruise brands in one comprehensive site including ship sourcing, meeting and function room capacities and dining details not published elsewhere -- not even on cruise line web sites.

Commenting on the 2010-2012 Travel Agent Advisory Board selection, CLIA’s president and CEO Terry Dale said:  “We are deeply indebted to the professionals who consent to serve on the TAAB. Their experience in selling cruises provides CLIA’s member cruise lines with invaluable insight and direction as they play a major role in shaping our business strategies going forward.”

About Seasite
Seasite was recently introduced as the first online cruise platform for meeting professionals. Seasite is an industry sourcing tool to search, select and plan group cruises, with access to 35 cruise lines in one site, meeting-friendly search criteria, e-RFP’s, meeting/function room capacities, dining details and other unique tools available nowhere else. Visit www.seasite.com

About CLIA
The nonprofit Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is North America's largest cruise industry organization. CLIA represents the interests of 25 member lines and participates in the regulatory and policy development process while supporting measures that foster a safe, secure and healthy cruise ship environment. CLIA is also engaged in travel agent training, research and marketing communications to promote the value and desirability of cruise vacations and counts as members 16,000 travel companies. For more information on CLIA, the cruise industry, and CLIA-member lines visit www.cruising.org.

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