Changi Airport Group & Singapore Tourism Board announce initiative to tap Asia’s growth potential through tripartite collaboration with Princess Cruises.
SINGAPORE – Changi Airport Group (CAG), Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and Princess Cruises announced an initiative aimed at growing Asia’s fly-cruise segment and promoting demand for cruise holidays from Singapore.
This multi-million dollar tripartite collaboration commenced last month with a series of marketing campaigns promoting Princess Cruises’ sailings not just in Asia, but also further afield in Australia, United Kingdom and the United States. The Asian countries earmarked are China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan. Princess Cruises is part of Carnival Corporation, the world largest cruise company.
With a low penetration of cruising1. in Asia, there is a huge potential for cruise companies to grow in this region by developing new passenger source markets. Cruise lines that are looking to begin or extend sailings out of Singapore will benefit by working with CAG and STB. Jan Swartz, President of Princess Cruises said, “Princess Cruises is proud to be a partner of CAG and STB. We are confident that this collaboration will complement our expansion efforts in Asia and we look forward to developing the regional cruise market through continued investment in our people and resources.”
Further strengthening this collaboration is Changi Airport’s strong connectivity to 270 cities worldwide, combined with some 6,600 weekly flights, giving Singapore a strategic advantage to effectively tap fly-cruise traffic from across the globe and serve as a cruise hub for Asia.
Long Term Commitment to Cruise
Since 2012, CAG and STB have been partnering cruise liners on initiatives to anchor more ships within Singapore’s waters. In September 2012, CAG and STB jointly supported Costa Cruises – one of the cruise brands under the Carnival Corporation – on a multi-million dollar collaboration to deploy more ships and to market the cruise liner within Asia Pacific. In the first year of collaboration, Costa Cruises received support to intensify marketing efforts to Asian consumers, yielding positive results, recording 5,000 Asian cruise passengers flying through Changi Airport and spending time in Singapore before and after their cruises.
In tandem, CAG has also been actively collaborating with airlines and travel agents on marketing campaigns to promote fly-cruise packages in markets such as China and India.
Mr Lim Ching Kiat, CAG’s Senior Vice-President for Market Development, said, “Changi Airport Group welcomes this opportunity to partner STB to grow passenger source markets in Asia and heighten awareness of cruising as a desired travel option. This second tripartite collaboration with the Carnival Corporation’s group of cruise brands further highlights our synergistic efforts to grow the fly-cruise segment in Singapore. With Changi Airport’s strong connectivity to destinations across the world, this serves to complement STB’s vision of making Singapore a global cruise hub, whilst supporting Princess Cruises’ new offerings in Singapore.”
As a champion for the Singapore cruise industry, STB is also committed to helping cruise stakeholders succeed. For example, market research indicated that many Asian consumers have low awareness but high receptivity towards cruising. Given that the majority of cruise bookings are made through travel agents, a training programme for travel agents across Southeast Asia was launched in 2013, led by the Asia Cruise Association and facilitated by STB. The on-going training is steadily building a pool of cruise specialists, thus expanding the trade network and making Southeast Asia even more attractive to cruise companies.
In particular, fly-cruise is a key topic of discussion during the training. Travel agents learn of the benefits of fly-cruise holidays, where consumers enjoy greater convenience, competitive prices, and a wider range of itineraries. This ties in with CAG and STB’s united objective. “Through this complementary partnership, STB and CAG will work together to promote the concept of flying into Singapore to cruise. We are excited that Princess Cruises has come on board, and look forward to more cruise lines joining us in tapping on the immense potential of cruising in Southeast Asia,” said Ms Neeta Lachmandas, Assistant Chief Executive, Business Development Group, Singapore Tourism Board.
“Changi Airport is world-renowned and travellers would be able to relate to the convenience and seamlessness associated with both Changi Airport and fly-cruise holidays. Together, our goal is to make Singapore the preferred regional cruise hub. We look forward to more of such fruitful collaborations in the future,” she added.
According to the Asia Cruise Association, Asia has a penetration rate of less than 0.1% compared to 3.3% in the USA.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
