Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has appointed Sabrina Greca to the newly created role of international senior corporate sales manager.
She has been tasked with increasing sales in the meetings, incentives, conference and events (MICE) sector and heading up NCL’s newly formed ‘Experiences at Sea’ division, which will see the line host 1,500 travel agents on a series of ship visits across the UK and Ireland between May and October.
The day trips will take place across five of NCL’s fleet of ships and will cover 22 separate dates in nine locations: Greenock, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton, Newhaven, Tilbury, Belfast, Dun Laoghaire and Cobh.
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Each event will give agents the opportunity to take a tour of either Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Gateway, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Star or Norwegian Gem.
Greca will also be present on two webinar sessions aiming to educate the trade on the value of the MICE sector. The webinars will take place on April 18 and 20.
“The value for money of a cruise-based event versus a land-based event, whether a whole ship charter or a smaller group on an existing sailing, is incomparable,” Greca said.
“From health and wellbeing trips using the Mandra Spa, to food and beverage conferences using our stellar collection of onboard bars and restaurants, we know the MICE opportunity is untapped when it comes to UK sales.
“I’m excited to work with the team and explore this potential for the UK market and beyond.”
Gary Anslow, NCL senior sales director UK & Ireland, said: “Charters and onboard events are a material part of our business in North America and a number of our international markets, but they remain a huge opportunity in the UK and Ireland.
“Ship visits are an integral part of enhancing an agent’s brand knowledge and offers the opportunity to experience the NCL product first hand.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming all our valued agents on board, to have insightful conversations around the constantly evolving travel industry and to share news on our existing fleet and new ship launches.
“Sabrina’s appointment will be critical in enabling UK agents with corporate clients to capitalise on the opportunity.”
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