ONLINE cruise pioneer
ecruising.travel has laid
out ambitious plans to
double its business, with
the recent appointment
of Alastair Fernie as
executive general
manager (TD 04 Dec)
expected to accelerate
the company’s growth.
Ecruising was founded
15 years ago by Brett
Dudley, with key clients
and a who’s who of
industry partners
attending a celebratory
shindig in Sydney this week.
Fernie departed from Helloworld
last year (Travel Daily 22 Jul) after
many years with the organisation
where he established Harvey’s
Choice Cruising and later became
head of The CRUISE Team.
He formally commenced with
ecruising just two weeks ago as
part of expansion plans which
will see him run day-to-day
operations, allowing Dudley to
focus on the company’s popular
range of cruise tours which
combine cruise itineraries, flights,
hotels and sightseeing.
The 15th birthday event
included a testimonial from CLIA
chairman and head of Royal
Caribbean Cruises in Australia
Gavin Smith, who hailed Brett
and Philippa Dudley for their
innovative contributions to the
Australian cruise industry.
They “single-handedly changed
how Australians purchase cruising
– they redefined the cruising
landscape,” he said.
Dudley said he was proudest of
his decision to start a web-based
business during the “tech wreck”
when internet companies were
crashing out of the stock market.
“Ecruising was created and
thrived out of the rubble,” he said.
Since then the company has
garnered a host of top achiever
awards, established an offshoot in
Hong Kong as well as developed
a loyal clientele of around 30,000
members of its “Posh Club”
loyalty program
