Singapore aims to boost fly-cruise sector with Royal Caribbean tie-up
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The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has moved to enhance the country’s position in the fly-cruise market, with the signing of a new joint marketing agreement with Royal Caribbean International and the Changi Airport Group (CAG).
The three-way collaboration, which runs between 2015 and 2018, is aiming at attracting more than 170,000 overseas visitors to Singapore to sail on Royal Caribbean’s cruises. This would represent growth of more than 50%.
The multi-million dollar campaign will feature a series of marketing initiatives, research studies and partnerships with the media and trade, in a broad range of markets in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
Royal Caribbean also plans to increase its number of sailings from Singapore during this period to more than 40 per year. Currently, the cruise line’s 3,807-passenger Mariner of the Seas makes approximately 30 voyages annually. Its next Singapore season starts in October 2015 and will feature more long cruises of between seven and 15 nights, aimed at attracting more overseas fly-cruise passengers.
“Having deployed ships here regularly for the last seven years, Royal Caribbean now looks forward to its next phase of significant growth in Singapore,” said Sean Treacy, Royal Caribbean Cruises’ managing director for Singapore & Southeast Asia.
“Our three-year deployment plan is our strongest commitment ever to this market and we see great potential in Singapore as a source market and regional cruise hub. We highly appreciate this collaboration which will be a tremendous support for our business goals in Singapore and Southeast Asia, as well as the strong efforts of the Singapore government for being so proactive in driving the cruise business in the country.”
Projected to generate more than US$100 million in tourism receipts, the collaboration with Royal Caribbean will contribute substantially to Singapore’s cruise industry, which is expected to experience annual growth of 5-8% over the next three to four years.
“The tripartite collaboration is a significant development not just for Singapore but also for Southeast Asia. We hope Royal Caribbean’s commitment will inspire new cruise itineraries around the region to offer more reasons for travellers to take to cruising, and also motivate our neighbouring ports and destinations to invest and realise fully the tremendous potential of the Asian cruise industry,” said Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive of the STB’s business development group.
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