ITC graduate named Rising Star NZ at Cruise Industry Awards

A graduate of the International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) won a prestigious award at the ‘CLIAs’ on Saturday night in Sydney.

Shelley Williams was named ‘Rising Star NZ’ at the 8th Annual Cruise Industry Awards, which is an awards ceremony organised by the Cruise Lines International Association.

Shelley graduated from ITC Study From Home in 2017 and soon after started a boutique travel agency, Clevedon Travel.

“To say we are proud of Shelley’s achievements would be an understatement,” says Study From Home team leader Richard Euston.

“We always knew Shelley was a rising star, and to have this formally recognised by the cruise industry is simply fantastic.”

Shelley was “incredibly proud” to be considered and to have the opportunity to attend the glamorous awards evening at the Star Event Centre in Sydney (she was invited as a guest by World’s Leading Cruise Lines).

She says the evening was a wonderful networking opportunity, as there were 500 guests from CLIA, cruise lines, and travel agencies from around Australia and New Zealand in attendance.

When her big moment came, she got a wonderful surprise.

“I had no idea in advance that I was going to win so it was a surprise when they said my name. It was up on the big screen and everything!” says Shelley.

“I made my way to stage quickly and accepted my award from the sponsor, Tony Smith of Francis Travel Marketing. Thankfully there were no speeches necessary, just a photo onstage. Then they whisked me away for more photos and a little later came back to grab me to record a podcast for CLIA.”

Shelley adds that the celebratory atmosphere was infectious – she even got up and danced to the ‘The Boys in the Band’ when they came onstage.

“I didn’t even dance at my own wedding!” laughs Shelley.

Since winning the award, Shelley has already been contacted by several cruise companies offering their congratulations and to help her with marketing.

And, she’s already got her sights set on the CLIAs 2020 – next year, she’d love to take home a cruise consultant or cruise champion trophy.

“But these are super tough categories, so I’ll just have to try my hardest and hope for the best!”

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