Changi Airport Group unveils plans to grow Singapore"s cruise industry

Changi Airport Group unveils plans to grow Singapore’s cruise industry

Published: 26/05/14

Source: ©The Moodie Report

By Melody Ng, Asia Bureau Chief

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SINGAPORE. Changi Airport Group (CAG), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Carnival Corp-owned Princess Cruises have announced a multi-million dollar initiative aimed at growing Asia’s fly-cruise segment and promoting demand for cruise holidays from Singapore.

This 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, the UK and US. The Asian countries earmarked are China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan.

A joint statement by the three parties said that with the low penetration of cruising in Asia, there is “a huge potential for cruise companies to grow in this region by developing new passenger source markets”. Citing figures from the Asia Cruise Association, the statement noted that Asia has a penetration rate of less than 0.1% compared to 3.3% in the US. Cruise lines that are looking to begin or extend sailings out of Singapore will benefit by working with CAG and STB.

Princess Cruises President Jan Swartz 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 industry

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 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.

CAG Senior Vice-President for Market Development Lim Ching Kiat 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 Corp’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.”

STB has also facilitated a training programme, led by the Asia Cruise Association, for travel agents across Southeast Asia to build a pool of cruise specialists. Travel agents learn of the benefits of fly-cruise holidays, where consumers enjoy greater convenience, competitive prices, and a wider range of itineraries.

“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 STB Assistant Chief Executive, Business Development Group Neeta Lachmandas.

“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.

This development will come as positive news to travel retailers such as DFS and Heinemann Asia Pacific, which have operations in some of Singapore’s ferry terminals and cruise centres. The latter recently entered the Asian cruise market with the opening of Ocean Duty Free in partnership with Singapore Cruise Centre at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

According to Cruise Line International Association the worldwide cruise passenger volume is expected to reach an estimated 21.7 million in 2014, while Asia Cruise Association predicts that the Asian cruise tourism market will grow to 3.8 million by 2020.

In 2013, Singapore received 1.03 million cruise passengers, a year-on-year increase of +13% – above the +7.5% compounded annual growth rate of the global cruise industry from 2007 to 2013. The same year saw 391 ship calls in Singapore, up +17%, with cruise liners making multiple deployments.

Changi Airport Group unveils plans to grow Singapore"s cruise industry