PANELLISTS at this year’s Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific conference debated on what products are needed to meet the tastes of Asian customers, drawing attention to two kinds of passengers.
Ted Blamey, principal of Chart Management Consultants that produced the Asia Cruise Association’s (ACA) white paper on cruising, said: “The cultures and customs in Asia, vacation patterns, tastes and preferences, income levels…all vary significantly between one nation and the other, so it’s a mistake to talk about Asia as one market.”
However, mainstream cruisers of each market exhibit overarching similarities when compared against the Western passenger’s profile.
Blamey explained that Westerners prefer cultural experiences and relaxing in the sun or at bars, with about half of them buying shore excursion tours. They also favour seven- to 14-night open-jaw cruises, and are more likely to travel as a couple or with friends.
On the other hand, Asians hope to see and do as much as possible. A whopping 90 per cent book multiple organised tours, while on board they enjoy shopping and karaoke, keeping out of the sun. They also travel in multi-generational family groups and take short roundtrip cruises instead.
ACA’s white paper found that cruises of two-to-three nights and four-to-six nights accounted for 368 and 261 cruises in the region this year respectively. Collectively, short cruises constituted 77 per cent of all cruises through Asia.
To tap this opportunity, Carnival Australia’s CEO, Ann Sherry, urged cruise liners to offer cheap, short weekend cruises and make money from ancillaries instead.
Christina Siaw, CEO of Singapore Cruise Centre, observed: “Singaporeans and Asians go for all our short cruises. They aren’t buying the itinerary, because they’ve been to Port Klang (Kuala Lumpur), Phuket and Penang dozens of times. They buy the time to bond with their three-tier family. It’s a weekend getaway with the family, there’s something for everyone and it’s an Asian habit.
“For the densely populated capitals such as Bangkok and Singapore, what we need is a product where the ship itself is a destination. Many families tell me: ‘Being on the ship is a lot more fun and less stressful than taking my children to Orchard Road (on the weekend).’”
Likewise, Buhdy Bok, senior vice president Pacific Asia and China, Costa Crociere, said that Costa’s ‘Italy at Sea’ premise was a draw. “The Italian experience is very attractive to Asian guests, and we try to keep that, while also offering items that are important to Asians, such as food.”
However, Michael Goh, senior vice president sales, Star Cruises, could not agree. “I think passengers want everything and our job is to create demand among cruisers. Last week, 60 cyclists brought their bicycles on board with us and sailed to Langkawi to cycle. So we have to create the product (according to guest wishes).”
Brett Jardine, general manager of CLIA Australasia presented the middle ground, saying: “I think the really simple answer is there are two types of passengers: itinerary-focused and ship-focused…As long as the industry can cater to all types of passengers, we’re going to prosper.”
