Meet

David Goh, the

new man at the helm
of CLIA Asia
THE REGIONS top cruise lines
have announced a new leadership
team for their organisation, with
former port development and tour
operator David Goh taking over as
Secretary General of CLIA Asia.
Mr Goh, regional managing director
of global events and operational
solutions company MCI, takes on
the job of launching Cruise Lines
International Associations
Southeast and North Asia
operations.
His appointment just a month ago
comes at an important time for the
industry, with enormous growth, a
huge influx of new ships and
growing investment in destinations
and ports.
Mr Goh, who has been in
association management for a
decade, spoke to ASEAN Cruise
News about his plans, and the
importance of training and
development of travel agents
throughout the ASEAN region.
He said the association was
working towards a summit when all
the players could discuss the way
forward for the industry in the
region.
He said his main concern was
widening the distribution channel
which means training and
educating distributors about cruise.

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New research reveals massive

cruise growth in ASIA

ASIAS incredible cruise

growth caused a stir at last
months Miami conference of
industry executives and
sparked a debate about how
the region has become the
new world of travels
biggest growth sector.
Double-digit growth, more
ships than ever before and
explosive investment in ports
and destinations caused the
cruise lines biggest names to
pronounce that Asias cruise
industry has truly come of
age.
These are the key findings of
CLIA Southeast Asia by Chart
Management Consultants.
1. Since 2013, passenger
capacity grew by 20 per cent
to reach almost 2.2 million.

2. Cruise lines hosted

nearly 1.4 million Asians in
2014, up 34 per cent.

3. In two years, Chinese

passengers grew 79 per cent
per year.
4. Chinas Gen Y make up
most of the countrys
outbound travel.
5. Over 50 cruise ships will
operate in Asia this year.
Sailings are up 11 per cent at
1065 this year
6. Asian cruisers primarily
explore Asian destinations.
7. The region includes more
than 168 destinations across
18 countries.
8. Asian cruisers tend to
prefer shorter cruises four
to six days.
9. Lines have recognised
Asians love high-end
shopping and food.

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Country spotlight: Thailand

EXPECT to see a big
movement in Thailands cruise
industry over the coming
years, as the country invests
heavily in port development,
promotion and a potential
partnership with Singapore.
In an interview with ASEAN
Cruise News, Tourism
Authority of Thailands Deputy
Governor for Tourism Products
and Business, Vilaiwan
Twichasri said while Thailand
is enjoying an increase in
cruise visits, the overall plan is
to build the sector and entice
lines to deploy ships on a more
permanent b asis.
Thailand is not looking
forward to seeing the growing
number of call-cruise ships,
which call at our ports in
season but we are looking
forward to seeing the growing
number of deployed-cruise
ships in our region
permanently, which m akes us
confident that Cruise Tourism
in our region could grow
sustainably, she said.
Currently, Thailand welcomes
around 75 cruise ships from 26

cruise lines.
Of those, only a few are
permanently based in Asia
such as the Star Cruises
vessels.
Costa Cruises, Silversea
Cruises and Seabourn Cruises
make regular visits throughout
the year, while Holland
America and Royal Caribbean
are slowly increasing their
deployments.
However, Mrs Twichasri said
in order to b uild on this
growth, the region and

particularly Thailand needs to

invest in m ajor ports.
Every potential country
deeply wishes to have a
modern and functional cruise
terminal as a home port to
welcome m ore cruise ships and
cruise travellers to visit, she
explained.
A cruise terminal is a m atter
that every single country needs
to consider to invest in and of
course, a major port would not
be built in a single night.

RCCL launches reservation system for agents

SINGAPORE and Malaysia

have been chosen to pioneer
Royal Caribbean Cruises new
reservation system ESPRESSO
- which is designed to help
travel agents increase sales.
The system is an industry
first, allowing agents to book
holidays for clients on the go
using their tablet devices.
The system has reduced the
booking stages from seven to
five. The entire inventory of
the cruise ship is centralised
so agents can compare
options according to their
clients needs. Travel agents
are able, for instance, to select
up to four stateroom
categories, and they can use

new interactive deck plans,

which highlight the best
available staterooms and
filter specific criteria, such
as connecting, closest-to or
accessible staterooms.
The system also allows
agents to select one or
multiple staterooms b y
simply clicking on them to
view their photos, layouts
and other details.
ESPRESSO provides side-by-
side comparison views of
selected itineraries to help
travel agents identify the
best possible cruise for their
clients.
Once submitted, the search
engine finds the best

prices and applicable

promotional offers so travel
agents get holiday options.
The system also identifies past
guests and can even display
their past accommodation
preferences and recent
promotions which have b een
sent to them.
ESPRESSO is being rolled out
worldwide - but in Asia, China,
Singapore and Malaysia have
been singled out as the three
nations to kick-start the
program.
A spokesperson from RCCL
said training has already
started in Singapore and can
try out the system at
www.espressocbt.com.

15 minutes withFarriek Tawfik, Director of Southeast

Asia, Princess Cruises
Q. Why did you decide to
homeport the Sapphire
Princess in Singapore?
With quality port
infrastructure, Singapore is
also-well positioned to
capitalise on the growing
cruise market in the region.
There is also strong
government support to grow
the local and regional cruise
market.

Q. What sets Princess apart
from other lines?
Our ships are renowned for a
wide array of choices in
dining, entertainment and
amenities all provided for with
our classic warm and
welcoming service. We offer
more destinations from
Singapore than any other
cruise line.

Q. What is your biggest
cruise market in the ASEAN
region?
Our biggest cruise m arkets are
in Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore. We are reaching
out to first time cruisers.

Southeast Asian cruisers

tend to be a lot younger as
well.

Q. Are there plans to bring
more ships into Asian
ports?
Itineraries are planned one
to two years in advance. We
are definitely looking at
including more ports of calls
in the region. We are looking
into including ports in
Southeast Asia for future
homeporting season.

Q. Do you see ASEAN more
as a destination, rather
than a source market?
I see ASEAN as both as a
destination, there is a wide
array of sightseeing spots
and activities that have
exotic locations.
Governments are now
working to boost SEAs
position as an exciting cruise
destination.
As a source market, the
region is expected to
substantially and is poised to
see a 14 per cent growth.

Q. When did you take your

first cruise?
My first cruise experience was a
five-star international cruise
trip to Alaska in 1994 onboard
the Sky Princess. Alaska is my
favourite cruise destination.
Coming from Asia, it is a once in
a lifetime experience for me to
see something so beautiful.

How Princess Cruises rewards its travel agents

Princess Cruises has

announced its first batch of
travel agents who have passed
the line's rigorous training -
with 49 passing out as top-tier
Commodores.
Princess's online training
system - known as the Princess
Academy - is renowned for
being tough.
The line has identified the
growing demand for training
for agents in Southeast Asia,
and is pushing the program
hard alongside its investment
in homeporting its first ship in
the region.
The Sapphire Princess has just
successfully completed its first
season based in Singapore, and
will be back next year.
Commodore status s the
highest achievement an agent
can be awarded, meaning these
travel agents are recognised as
experts to sell cruises onboard

its fleet of 18 vessels.

Princess is celebrating its 50th
year this year, and is a
complex product for many
agents. The premium brand
sails from the Caribbean to
Africa and India. Princess is a
leader in Alaska, owning five
riverside wilderness lodges
and a fleet of railcars and
luxury m otorcoaches.
Princess Cruises rewarded its
class of 2015 with a four-night
Malaysia cruise and a behind-
the-scenes tour of the ships
galley and the bridge.
Princess Academy follows the
Naval tradition of recognising
achievements with
promotions through the ranks,
from First Officer, Staff
Captain, Captain and
Commodore.
In order to rise through the
ranks, the agents need to
complete and pass five

modules of training.
The 49 Commodores, 23 First
Officers, 21 Staff Captains and
14 Captains who graduated in
2014 came from countries like
Singapore, Malaysia and
Indonesia.
We are immensely proud of
all the 2014 Princess Academy
graduates and their
dedication to the industry.
Travel agents are one of our
most important partners and
we look forward to another
year of working closely with
them, said Director of
Princess Cruises in Southeast
Asia Farriek Tawfik.
We will continue to invest
resources and develop the
best tools to grow the local
and regional cruise industry.

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