The two North American industry associations the Cruises Lines International Association (CLIA) and the International Council of Cruises Lines (ICCL) are merging and are expected to be under one roof in Southern Florida by year’s end, with current CLIA President Terry Dale as president and CEO.

CLIA’s main role has been to promote cruises to the trade and consumers and to train travel agents, while the ICCL has looked after the industry’s interests in Washington, D.C. with its own lobbying efforts, but also worked with safety and operating practices, setting standards for the industry.

“We need to have one unified voice on behalf of the industry,” commented Richard Fain, chairman of the ICCL and chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Andy Stuart, chairman of CLIA, will continue in that role. He is also executive vice president of marketing, sales and passenger services for Norwegian Cruises Line.

Fain said that the two organizations are presently examining their need for a new organizational structure and was not prepared to say how that would be organized or who would be part of it.

CLIA has a staff of 24 in New York, while the ICCL has a staff of 10 in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, the ICCL will be represented in Washington, D.C. through its lobbyists and CLIA will be represented vis-a-vis the media in New York through its public relations agency, accordoing to Dale.

Fain also pointed out that the merger and the move are not intended as a cost saving measure.

But Cruise Industry News was not able to ascertain how much of the funding for CLIA and the ICCL comes from cruise lines, from travel agents, memberships, other functions and activities.