AUSTRALIA and Asia-Pacific will be one of the most important regions to the reborn cruise line Swan Hellenic (SH), (TD 23 Jul), CEO Andrea Zito told TD.
Speaking to TD yesterday, Zito said cruises to Antarctica from the Australian continent were being explored, and would complement semi-circumnavigations from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea offered in Swan Hellenic’s 2021-22 return season, departing Ushuaia and disembarking in Dunedin.
“It is possible, we are studying it…our ship which will be based in the Bering Strait will have to commute to Antarctica through the Pacific Ocean, so we are designing some itineraries through Papua New Guinea and Japan, so hopefully there is an option to, instead of going back to Ushuaia, take a deep dive in Antarctica from the Australian continent,” Zito said.
The cruise line revealed last week that it would be resurrected in Nov 2021, three-and-a-half years after last operating a cruise.
It will operate using two 152-passenger expedition ships which are currently being built in Finland (TD 23 Jul).
Zito also revealed a multitude of options were being considered for an assertive sales strategy in Asia-Pacific, with Swan Hellenic having previously been represented in Australia by GSA Discover the World.
“We’re not in the position to open an office in Australia, but we are in contact with various partners & we will announce our strategy in the next few months.”
Swan Hellenic also hopes to revive the previously positive relationship it had with the trade.
“We want to be very friendly with the travel agent community because we can offer good options for our guests, but we can also offer a profitable environment for our partners”.
“We are developing quite an aggressive strategy,” Zito said.
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Source: traveldaily