Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator of global cruise travel, has promoted Damian Borg to Director of Sales Strategy and Operations for Asia Pacific and Angela Middleton to Director of Field Sales for Australia/New Zealand (AU/NZ) on the heels of achieving robust bookings growth in the region compared to the same time last year.
As of 01 April, Borg’s expanded role will now include providing strategic direction to the NCL sales team in Asia to further support Ben Angell, Vice President and Managing Director of NCL APAC, with spearheading strong growth in the region. Additionally, he will continue to oversee the organisation’s sales operations across AU/NZ, also now expanded to APAC with a focus on driving positive momentum for the Company’s immersive itineraries to Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, Asia and exotic destinations, such as South America and Africa.
Borg’s promotion closely follows that of Middleton to the position of Director of Field Sales AU/NZ, a role that sees her charged with further strengthening relationships and support for trade distribution and nurturing career development amongst the field sales team. This includes two roles that are currently being recruited, which include a new dedicated field sales role based in South Australia covering SA/WA and a business development manager position looking after NSW/ACT. With these latest additions to the Australia-based field sales team, the local sales organisation has grown by 40% since 2019, reaffirming the Company’s commitment to delivering unwavering support to the travel partner community and capitalising on strong cruise demand.
Ben Angell, Vice President and Managing Director, APAC, of NCL said, “The first quarter of this year saw some of the strongest ever consumer demand for cruise, and we are delighted with such a strong start to 2024, surpassing last year’s bookings during the same time period. This is greatly attributed to our incredible team and strong trade partnerships capitalising on the rise in cruise demand and NCL’s extensive product offering around the world. With Damian and Angela now taking on expanded roles within organisation, I am confident we will achieve continued success in meeting and exceeding the needs of trade partners and customers across Asia Pacific.”
Damian Borg, Director of Sales Strategy and Operations for Asia Pacific, expanded, “The trade community has always been at the centre of our success, and in my new role, I am looking forward to supporting Ben in identifying opportunities to strengthen our relationships in Asia and ensuring we are leading the way in how we support and engage travel partners. Bookings for our Asia itineraries have been a particular stand out this year, and we continue to see great potential in the region with four ships sailing from nine different departure ports in Asia through 2026. I look forward to working more closely with the local team, while also continuing to support the AU/NZ sales organisation.”
New Director of Field Sales of AU/NZ, Angela Middleton added, “Our rich product offering invites guests to discover the 450 destinations around the world NCL visits, while maximising their holiday with a variety of experiences aboard and ashore. I am looking forward to empowering our dedicated and extremely talented field sales team to innovate how we can continue to be great partners to the trade community and continue the strong momentum of 2024. We want to be the easiest supplier our travel partners do business with, so they can focus on being a great support for their clients from the start of their cruise journey.”
For more information or to book a cruise with NCL, please contact a travel professional; call NCL in Australia on 1300 255 200 or in New Zealand on 0800 969 283; or visit www.ncl.com.
