CLIA UK & Ireland has announced Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, and Steve Born, chief marketing officer of Group Voyagers as two of the keynote speakers at the CLIA Conference 2020. The annual flagship event will take place in Southampton from 26-28 April.

In December, the theme for the conference was announced as ‘Cruise Heroes’. Ashford and Born will be part of a line-up of speakers that showcase the ‘Cruise Heroes’ working across the industry. The event will include ship visits, a trade fair and a full day of business sessions, followed by a gala dinner with entertainment. Delegates will have the chance to visit two cruise ships in port – P&O Cruises’ Britannia and MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia.

Andy Harmer, UK & Ireland director at CLIA said: “The theme Cruise Heroes celebrates the individuals in our industry who go above and beyond to create incredible cruise holidays. As such, we’re inviting our travel agent members to nominate their cruise hero ahead of the conference. They could be a future or past colleague, or someone they know within the industry who has made a huge impact on their career.”