Azamara Cruises' international sales chief targets growth from UK 

Azamara Cruises’ international chief sales officer has outlined his ambition for the UK to have an “elevated voice” and take “a greater share of the pie” in the company’s overall business.

David Siewers, who joined the small-ship line in April, took on responsibilities for the UK and EMEA markets earlier this month after managing director David Duff departed.

Siewers said he will be spending half his time in the UK and will take feedback from agents directly to executive leadership meetings in Miami.

Speaking on a Travel Weekly webcast, he said: “When you’re a small brand of just four ships, you don’t need to go through too many layers of approval and management to get that feedback heard.

“We have the ability to get that feedback and action it a bit quicker than some of the larger brands, and we want to take advantage of that.”

Azamara Cruises set up its first UK trade advisory panel in September with 10 members spanning retail, cruise specialists, homeworkers, tour operators and consortia, following in the footsteps of the line’s US trade advisory panel, which prompted suite inclusion changes made earlier this year.

The UK panel will meet twice a year, once in person and once virtually, with potential for more meetings on an ad hoc basis if there is “a really brilliant idea”, which Siewers promised would be “acted on”.

Siewers said his aim is to elevate the voice of the UK market, which currently accounts for 20% of Azamara’s overall business.

“The UK is our second-largest market [with] 90% of it coming from our travel partners, which we are so incredibly proud of,” he said. “It should take a greater share of the pie. I would love that.”

He added: “I’d love to see the UK overtake North America. You know what they say: when you shoot for the moon, you land on the stars.”

Looking ahead, Siewers said 2026 has “a solid base" which is “better than we have ever had before”. He attributed this in part to an earlier launch of itineraries and the effectiveness of its trade partnerships.

The line’s ’Destination Immersion’ message will continue to be its “rallying cry” and “purpose”, he said, with 51% of ports its ships visit being late night or overnight, and its closest small-ship competitor sitting at 37%.