FCTG unveils an array of Cruiseabout appointments

FCTG unveils an array of Cruiseabout appointments

Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) today announced the appointment of Darren Lloyd as brand leader of its newest brand in the leisure portfolio, Cruiseabout.

Lloyd is well known to FCTG, having previously worked in leadership roles across leisure brands including Escape Travel, Student Flights and BYOJet over a 24 year span.

FCTG Leisure CEO James Kavanagh calls the appointment of Lloyd a major win to ensure smooth sailing.

“With Darren steering this ship we are confident we can give Australian cruise customers the modernised and refreshed retail cruise brand they have been missing for years,” Kavanagh said.

“Our model – with a national footprint, Australia-based call centre and online booking functionality all serviced by specialist cruise experts – is the only one of its kind in Australia and we’re excited to watch Darren take the helm as an incredibly experienced leader.”

Another four key appointments have been made over at CruiseHQ, FCTG’s dedicated B2B cruise wholesaler to the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Tina Giannapolous (head of operations), Carina Mullen (head of product), Caitlyn Paris (marketing manager) and Viktoryia Schliazhko (business development manager) have all boarded the CruiseHQ ship having spent a collective 20+ years in cruise wholesaling roles.

Greg Parker, FCTG’s CEO of Supply, said the specialist experience of his CruiseHQ leadership team will ensure the delivery of its promised new age B2B wholesale model.

“We are committed to making sure CruiseHQ is best-to-market and promotes real value and I believe we have the right leaders in place to help us achieve this,” Parker said.

Cruiseabout and CruiseHQ will soon commence a wider recruitment drive to fill a number of roles across the Gold Coast-based call centre, wholesaling support functions, and its first retail shop earmarked for an early 2024 opening.

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