Abercrombie & Kent, Crystal and Cox & Kings all achieved record sales in 2024, and 2025 has commenced strongly for the A&K Travel Group businesses, says Cristina Levis, Group CEO.
In Melbourne earlier this week and speaking exclusively with LATTE, Levis reported that global sales for Q1 2025 “have started strongly”, in particular for the 2026 calendar year.
“We are well ahead of the curve already for Crystal,” Monaco-based Levis explained.
“A&K has a different lead-time compared to that of Crystal, whose guests book much more in advance than Abercrombie & Kent.”
“The Australian market is performing strongly for the group, “above expectations”.
Levis paid homage to AKTG’s expanding workforce Down Under, telling LATTE she was impressed with the local team’s “incredible can do attitude”. She has every confidence the team will remain a force to be reckoned with when the brand’s local head, Debra Fox, relocates to the UK in coming months to oversee that market, as well as Asia Pacific.
Levis said the Australian market differs from other global markets. “Australians tend to book far earlier than other nationalities.”
However, 2025 has slowed “a little bit”, given the current global economic situation.
“With everything that is happening in the world, we cannot complain,” she said.
Those uncertainties include the Red Sea situation, the Ukraine conflict and President Trump’s new tariffs. The Red Sea remains a “big uncertainty” for all cruise lines, meaning ships must navigate around the African continent to get to the Mediterranean, which for a cruise line like Crystal with just two ships, has its challenges.
Levis said AKTG will continue to invest in Australia.
“We believe in this market. We believe in this country. We want more Australians on our ships,” she said, eyeballing additional office space in AKTG’s Melbourne CBD office locale for future team expansion. This week, the Group announced the return of the Cox & Kings brand to the Australian market. (More on that next week in LATTE).
For Levis, growth has been a key objective since stepping up as CEO of the Group.
“To grow, to grow, to grow… to a certain extent,” she says. Sustainable growth is paramount to avoid service delivery shortfalls.
“Rapid growth is one of the mistakes that some have made. Growing too fast and taking too much capacity – that’s a big mistake because you have to train new crews. It’s not easy to find excellent staff.”
“That’s the difference with Crystal and its crew. When we brought the brand back, 83% of crew returned.”
Read more exclusive feedback from Levis’ about Crystal’s expanding fleet in LATTE Cruise, here.
