Bruce Parton, House of Travel NZ CEO and chair of House of Travel Australia, says a newly created, joint cruise product and wholesale team will be led by Jeff Leckey in the role of general manager cruise – Australasia.

This follows cruise industry predictions released by CLIA earlier this year indicating that a growth in global cruise capacity (forecast to increase by 19% between 2022 and 2028) is expected to be met by an ongoing surge in demand for cruise travel.

Parton says Leckey brings decades of experience within the cruise sector to
his new role.

‘This includes six years as House of Travel’s New Zealand-based cruise general manager. Under his tenure, House of Travel became the leading cruise retailer in New Zealand in 2018 – a position which it retains to this day.’

Joe Araullo, CEO of House of Travel Australia, says the move will allow the company to capitalise on the combined volumes and expertise it already has.

TravelManagers’ cruise product manager, Lia Malone, is also joining the new team, which is tasked with developing outstanding cruise product that will be taken to market through the House of Travel and TravelManagers networks of travel agents.