NORWEGIAN Cruise Line (NCL) will “invest and double down in trade partnerships” following a restructure earlier this year which saw Ben Angell (pictured) take responsibility for the brand as Vice President & Managing Director NCL Asia Pacific.
Angell said the restructure was both prompted by growth from the local market – with the region on track to become the top international market for Norwegian Cruise Line – and a decision from head office to have more brand separation, following the announcement NCL’s Pres and CEO, Andy Stuart would leave at the end of the year.
Australian travel agents can expect to see the NCL brand “step up a bit now,” and receive more focus and space to breathe following the change, Angell said, which saw him become NCL’s first dedicated local head, rather than one leader responsible for all three Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings brands.
Work is already underway, with the team having started to assemble “a great sales team with a slightly different focus which will be more commercially focussed than we have been to date, because the next phase of growth demands that,” he explained.
“It’s about having those conversations with our travel partners up front to define what joint success looks like and then really setting yourselves the road map to achieve.”
