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Celestyal, the award-winning, number one choice for travellers to the Greek Islands and the Eastern Mediterranean, is delighted to announce that its CEO, Chris Theophilides, has been named Cruise Personality of the Year at the 2022 Seatrade Cruise Awards which took place today in Malaga during Seatrade Cruise Med.

The Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year award is for an individual who has gone above and beyond in their particular sector or industry, representing the best in their field and embodying the values that Seatrade wants to celebrate.

According to Mary Bond, group director of Seatrade Cruise, Chris Theophilides is a worthy winner of the award due to his resilience and strong leadership which has enabled Celestyal to become a champion for mid-sized vessel cruising and deliver authentic experiences amplifying its Greek roots. She highlighted his particular strengths in strategic planning and attracting funding which allowed Celestyal to secure investment, part of which has been ringfenced for fleet renewal. In a normal operating year, Celestyal contributes over €100m into the local Greek economy, whilst the company was praised for actively putting sustainable tourism into action. An example is the cruise line’s new intimate, immersive and hands-on Authentic Encounters shore excursion programme which provides unique, off-the-beaten path experiences to small groups of guests in order to protect the character of the places that Celestyal visits.

Commenting on the award, Chris Theophilides said: “At a time when the entire cruise industry’s perseverance was being tested, it is especially humbling to be awarded the Seatrade Cruise Personality of the Year award for 2022. Our industry is fortunate to have an extraordinary plethora of exceptional professionals across all levels. To have worked amongst them in our quest to provide stewardship in rough seas was a privilege – to be recognised and singled out is a tremendous honour. As with all successes in life, today’s recognition is a team achievement in large part a result of the hard work of a great group of colleagues at Celestyal, and I am grateful to them for their unwavering passion and dedication.”