Cruise Industry growth in Asia strong

A great line-up of speakers at this year’s Seatrade Cruise Asia conference in Manila last week at the @Shangri-La Fort Manila. Mary Bond, Group Portfolio Director and moderator delved straight into the state of the cruise industry in Asia now and discussed strategies and recommendations for continued growth from an esteemed panel of key industry leaders in the region – @TimJones from @CelebrityCruises Australia, @Tsunemichi Mukai, @MitsuiOceanCruises & @OlivieroMorelli, @MSCCruises.

Some of the key areas raised during this informative conference included developing destination experiences in emerging destinations and managing these expectations; the impact of the recently formed (late 2023) Huaxia collaboration with state owned Government in China to promote cruising in China; growth in the India cruise market which the Government is striving for targeted growth to 4 million by 2041; homeporting (seems every port is vying for cruise ships to homeport in their destination); the huge potential of Philippine Tourism with its vast amount of islands and local ports to explore as showcased by Tourism Secretary, @ChristinaGarciaFrasco and panellist @PauloTugbang; the growing importance of ESG and charting the future of sustainable cruising.

It is obvious that Singapore and Hong Kong are the leaders in attracting the major international cruise carriers with their infrastructure however emerging markets are key drivers for passengers – South East Asia was noted as a key for further development. A great concept was raised of introducing for streamlining the passenger experience in Asia – a visa free APAC pass for cruise passengers…let’s see !