THE fly-cruise market in Asia-Pacific has immense potential for growth, but is facing several impediments that must be tackled jointly by stakeholders, say cruise industry leaders.

Speaking at a plenary session during Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific, Buhdy Bok, vice president Asia-Pacific and China, Costa Cruises, cited the cruise line’s successful fly-cruise partnership with Air France signed in 2007, and painted a rosy outlook of Asia-Pacific’s fly-cruise segment.

He said: “About one million passengers sailed through the ports of Singapore and Hong Kong in 2011. Assuming that 50 per cent of this figure are fly-cruise passengers, that would translate to a potential 500,000 passengers.”

Hence, the “potential of the fly-cruise sector is big and expected to grow”, he added.

Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) head of marketing communications & development, Sheldon Hee, agreed that “the (Asia-Pacific) cruise market is significantly growing” and is currently only “scratching the surface of demand”.

To tap the growing demand, SIA is looking invest double-digit growth in its fly-cruise business to attract new customers to come on board in the coming years, according to Hee.

However, the fly-cruise market is not without its challenges. Apart from differing travel preferences between air and cruise passengers as well as difficulty in matching schedules and inventories, a more crucial issue is the “challenge of connectivity” as integrated travel – the availability of easy connections, etc – is not yet possible in many parts of Asia, Hee pointed out.

Recognising the importance of a “seamless travel experience”, SATS-Creuers Cruise Services, the operator of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore, has already made fly-cruise facilities available at Changi Airport Terminal 3, said its CEO, Melvin Vu.

A reverse cruise-fly amenity will also be ready for relaunch when Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas calls at Marina Bay Cruise Centre in October.

WHILE Asia-Pacific has seen the rapid development of several cruise hubs in recent years, the various national bodies must pledge greater support in bolstering port infrastructure, in addition to rolling out more attractions in their respective cities to entice larger cruise ships to berth.

Kelvin Tan, regional director, Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean Cruises, estimates that some 60 per cent of Asian ports still do not meet the physical requirements of these mega cruise ships.

“Large ships come with their (physical) challenges, especially in Asia where cruising is still very new,” he said. “Furthermore, a destination needs to offer variety to cruise passengers, especially when guests number over a thousand. The greater the variety of local attractions, the better visitors and congestion could be spread out (on shore).”

To attract larger cruise ships, Probolinggo – the Indonesian port town offering access to Mount Bromo – has been earmarked for development to enhance cruise itineraries from Singapore to Bali, revealed Noviendi Makalam, director of international promotion, Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism & Creative Economy.

Probolinggo will soon be able to berth bigger cruise ships once expansion works are completed in 2014.

Meanwhile, for operators of smaller cruise ships, port infrastructure is less of an issue.

Steve McLaughlin, business development manager, Asia Pacific, Orion Expeditions, said: “Infrastructure, for us, is not so important because we have such small numbers, and we are almost self-sufficient since we use zodiacs for shore excursions… That said, embarkation and disembarkation ports still need decent air uplift, so we use Singapore and Bali as our key destinations in Asia.”

SEADREAM Yacht Club will make its Asia-Pacific debut next year with a series of cruises calling on destinations in South Asia, North Asia, South-east Asia and Australia.

The ultra-luxury yacht company, which currently offers itineraries within the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Latin America, plans to launch its Asian programmes in 1Q2013.

“There will be a choice of short three- to four-night cruises around Bali and Bangkok as well as two 14-night voyages, one encompassing Papua New Guinea and Australia, and the other heading to Cambodia, Vietnam, Sanya, Macau and Hong Kong,” said Richard Jones, business and development director, SeaDream Yacht Club.

“Six- to seven-night departures from Phuket to Yangon are also on the cards.”

According to Jones, SeaDream’s move into Asia-Pacific was prompted by demand from its portfolio of loyal customers. “Some 65 per cent of our repeat clients demanded that we design Asia-Pacific itineraries,” he explained.

Currently, just over half of SeaDream’s passengers derive from the US, 11 per cent from Australia, while the rest are from Europe and Latin America. Asians comprise only a minute proportion of bookings.

“We have found it difficult to convince Asians to sail with us as we are such a niche product,” said Jones.

“Nonetheless, we hope that by moving into Asia, we will be able to attract more Asian passengers, especially those desiring a short break. We see a lot of value in targeting (Asian) golfers and by marketing charters to potential Asian customers. Essentially, we want to give Asians a taste of what SeaDream offers.”

EXOTISSIMO Travel has set up shop in Beijing and is due to launch a new range of travel itineraries in China.

Exotissimo Beijing will be led by managing director Olivier Marchesin, formerly general manager of Exotissimo Cambodia. It is the 19th Exotissimo office in Asia.

The tour operator’s Chinese itineraries will cover 22 provinces, five autonomous regions and five municipalities, as well as the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

The itineraries are divided into three categories: Classical China, which explores Chinese arts, architecture, cuisine and modern developments; Southwest China and Minorities, that will take the traveller through markets, villages and stunning landscapes; and the Great Landscape tour that will uncover spectacular terrain, from deserts to mountains and the Tibetan Plateau.

A number of these new programmes will become available to travel consultants on the Exotissimo Travel Trade website from September 28.

A ROAD map for Bali’s sustainable tourism development was launched during the recent Indonesia Sustainable Tourism Development Conference, calling for the radical restructuring of products and marketing with an emphasis on quality, segmentation, authenticity and better “green” performance across the industry.

Green Growth 2050, a Roadmap to Bali Sustainable Tourism Development emphasises the need for more green jobs, transportation infrastructure development, and the aligning of tourism strategies and awareness programmes at the national and provincial government levels.

Greenearth.travel chairman, Geoffrey Lipman, said: “We believe that the government, working with the industry and the Bali community, can use this road map to establish a creative system approach to successfully manage change. It has to be community driven, and the provincial government can take a leadership role in making this happen.”

“It is not expensive, it is just a commitment to a new way,” he added.

Lipman said that there had been a lot of talk about communities and jobs, and that both the central and Balinese governments had set green targets, and all that was left to do was take action.

“The future of Bali and the preservation of Trihita Karana (a Balinese philosophy of harmony between people and god, nature and community), would be a guiding principle for coherent policy action in tourism development, community interface, sustainability delivery and commitment to low carbon output,” said Lipman.

“(Implementation) must start now, because if business continues as usual, Bali will be exceeding its carrying capacity long before 2050,” he warned.

ASIA-PACIFIC cruise industry leaders have called for greater stakeholder integration and coordination so as to maximise gains from the rapid growth of cruise tourism within the region.

During a plenary session on the state of the Asia-Pacific cruise industry, Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia, emphasised the urgent need for Asia-Pacific cruise industry stakeholders “to get organised”.

She said: “We have to get stakeholders – be it the government, port authorities, NTOs, hoteliers or tour operators – behind us to orchestrate and coordinate marketing and advocacy efforts. Stakeholders need to put on a united front to encourage investment and development in port and cruise tourism infrastructure, which is still sorely lacking.”

Kelvin Leong, general manager of Asia Cruise Association (ACA), agreed that Asia’s cruise industry, though potentially lucrative, still lagged behind in coordination as compared to more established counterparts such as Australia.

“Travel consultants (in Asia) are not educated to act as advocates for the (cruise) sector. At the same time, cruise development is not high on the list of priorities for Asian governments, and as such, cruise lines face a roadblock – currently there just aren’t enough ports of call to vary itineraries and to boost profitability,” he said.

Leong added that ACA was attempting to tackle these issues by engaging with travel firms and relevant government bodies such as ASEAN.

In line with this strategy, ACA has entered into a partnership with Globalports and the French Riviera Port Authority to launch the inaugural Asia Cruise Forum in 2013.

Scheduled to take place in Singapore, Malaysia or Hong Kong, the forum aims to establish a training and accreditation framework for the cruise industry, while acting as a catalyst to accelerate port and cruise infrastructure development.

“We hope to draw all stakeholders together (for the forum), creating synergies to effectively capitalise on the booming Asian (tourism) markets,” said Leong.

THE lack of significant infrastructural improvements and government support (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 17, 2012) in Asia-Pacific are some of the more pressing issues that continue to constrain the development of the regional cruise industry.

Speaking at Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific 2012, Gianni Onorato, president, Costa Crociere, said while Asian destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai now boast ports capable of berthing the largest cruise ships, other transit ports of call in the region still lack the facilities to accommodate these larger vessels, and thus restrict the development of itineraries.

Citing Australia as an example, Gavin Smith, managing director, Royal Caribbean Cruises Australia, pointed out that while there was no lack of cruising demand Down Under, it was the limited “physical capabilities” of ports unable to accommodate larger ships that curtailed the growth of the industry.

Meanwhile, cruise stakeholders also pointed to the low rate of penetration of cruise tourism in Asia, which stands at about 0.01 per cent – in contrast with the three per cent market penetration rate in the US.

V.Ships president, Roberto Giorgi, said: “With the rapid rise of a middle class, there are 300 million potential passengers in China, but the country needs more ports and vessels built in order to reach its potential.”

Calling for more investment to boost cruising infrastructure in the region, Ann Sherry, CEO of Carnival Australia, said: “Everyone should have a stake (in the cruise industry), so Asia can learn how to harness all stakeholders to come together to realise ambitions.”

THAI AirAsia is planning to mount regular flights from Bangkok to Nay Pyi Taw and Bagan before the start of the 2013 South-east Asian Games in Myanmar.

Speaking at a promotional event ahead of the launch of four-weekly Bangkok-Mandalay services (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 15, 2012) and the addition of a third Bangkok-Yangon daily flight on October 4, Thai AirAsia CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, emphasised that facilities at nearly all of the country’s airports would have to be upgraded before international airlines could launch more routes.

“We have a plan to (fly to) Nay Pyi Taw, but the facilities have to be upgraded… I am sure the government is doing it and by next year we should be able to fly to Nay Pyi Taw,” he said.

“For flights to Bagan, we will look at maybe middle or the end of next year. I think we need to upgrade the (airport) facilities, such as ground handling services.”

Tassapon added that the Bangkok-Mandalay flights operated by Thai AirAsia would likely increase to a daily frequency within six months.

“A lot of people would like to come and see Mandalay, especially tourists from Europe. We have a lot of (European) tourists coming to Thailand and many of them want to visit Myanmar,” he said.

THE Indian government has decided to allow up to 49 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) by international airlines in Indian carriers.

Foreign airlines were previously barred from investing in Indian carriers, although up to 49 percent FDI by stakeholders unrelated to airline businesses was permissible.

The development comes as a welcome relief for most Indian airlines, which have been reeling from a combination of high state taxes, rising airport charges and fluctuating fuel costs.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet, which operates to 41 destinations across South Asia and the Middle East, is in talks with a Gulf-based airline for direct investment.

Neill Mills, CEO of SpiceJet said: “There have been preliminary discussions whether there is any interest on both sides and the confirmation is, yes, there is. Any future tie-up would produce reciprocal benefits.”

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts will embark on its maiden foray into Mauritius when the Centara Poste Lafayette Resort & Spa soft opens this December.

“This is a very significant move for Centara, as it marks a strategic step into a tourism market that we feel has very exciting potential,” said Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO of Centara Hotels & Resorts.

Located at Poste Lafayette on the northeast coast of Mauritius, the low-rise resort will be flanked by a beach with its own lagoon and reef on one side and a mountain on the other.

The property will offer 100 rooms, with a choice of superior and deluxe with garden or ocean views. The larger rooms, in addition to the king or twin bed options, will also be equipped with a sofa bed.

F&B facilities will include an all-day dining restaurant serving international cuisine; an a la carte restaurant specialising in Asian and Indian Ocean dishes; and a beach restaurant and bar.

Leisure amenities will include Spa Cenvaree, a free-form swimming pool and children’s pool, a fitness centre, and a kids’club.

Accommodation will be offered as Half Board Plus, inclusive of buffet breakfast and a choice of either lunch or dinner together with complimentary open bar during the meal service period; or All Inclusive, which covers all meals and full open bar served from 11.00 to 23.00 daily.