Celestyal has expanded the role of Jarrod Zurvas, who will now oversee sales activity in Australia and New Zealand in addition to Asia as Director of Business Development Asia Pacific.
Zurvas, originally from Mackay in north Queensland and now based in Malaysia, took on the expanded position in July. He will continue to work closely with Celestyal’s Australian Business Development Manager Mary Williams, as well as Julie Primmer and Lynda Wallace from representation company Ascend Travel Group, which manages Celestyal’s trade relationships in the local market.
Reporting to Celestyal Vice President Business Development Marios Polydorou, Zurvas will be tasked with driving growth across Asia Pacific as the cruise line embarks on a major expansion into the Arabian Gulf. For the first time, both Celestyal ships will operate year-round itineraries, including the newly introduced Celestyal Discovery, which joins Celestyal Journey in the region.
Polydorou said Zurvas would play a key role in supporting the cruise line’s ambitious growth targets.
“I’m thrilled to announce Jarrod’s expanded responsibilities and know he will do a fantastic job driving sales in the Australian market as Celestyal navigates a period of aggressive growth. With the arrival of Celestyal Discovery in the Arabian Gulf this year, alongside Celestyal Journey, both our ships will be cruising year-round for the first time. In the Gulf alone we are doubling the number of guests we carry from this year, and this is an exciting opportunity for key growth market Australia and the broader Asia Pacific. We haven’t been shy about our ambitious plans to double Australian bookings and Jarrod is well placed to drive this rapid expansion.”
Zurvas brings more than 15 years’ experience across travel, hospitality and FMCG, having previously held roles with SeaDream Yacht Club, Captain Cook Cruises, Coral Expeditions and Variety Cruises before joining Celestyal earlier this year.
He said he is eager to focus on strengthening ties with the Australian trade.
“It is an exciting time to be overseeing the Australian market for Celestyal and I’m looking forward to working with Mary, Lynda and Julie to expand our presence down under. With the majority of our business coming via trade channels, I’ll be spending more time at ‘home’ growing relationships with our valued partners and the travel agents who are such an important part of our success. We know Australians love cruising and spend a lot of time travelling in the Gulf, so we’ll be looking to tap into this demand to put this exciting region on the cruise map in our uniquely Celestyal way, while continuing to promote our great value, destination-immersive cruises in Greece and the Mediterranean.”
