Carnival Cruise Line has signed a preferred supplier agreement with WESTA, the Western Association of Travel Agents consortium. The new partnership will become effective January 1, 2019, and will offer a program with Carnival business development managers engaging with WESTA members to define shared strategies and marketing plans, and initiate Carnival brand and product training, the cruise line said.
Carnival Cruise Line joins Carnival Corporation sister brands Holland America Line and Princess Cruises on WESTA’s roster of preferred suppliers.
In a written statement Mike Estill, chief operating officer for Western Association of Travel Agencies, cited Carnival’s increasingly strong presence on the West Coast, including the arrival of the new Carnival Panorama next year, as reasons behind the decision.
The agreement is Carnival’s latest move to expand its presence on the U.S. West Coast. Earlier this year the line unveiled a reimagined terminal facility at Long Beach, California, and announced that its third Vista-class ship, Carnival Panorama, would be the first new Carnival ship introduced on the West Coast in decades. The line also is expanding shoreside facilities at Ensenada, Mexico, to enhance its Pacific Coast destination offerings.
Formed in the late 1970s, the Western Association of Travel Agencies is a member-owned and -governed marketing cooperative whose programs are designed to support retail travel companies located on the U.S. West Coast. WESTA seeks to increase revenues for its membership through a broad spectrum of programs in partnership with a select group of travel suppliers that target the same geographic market.
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