Asia’s vacation industry goes cruising

A report in Asia Times on line says that more Asian vacationers are taking to the high seas, even as international cruise operators are including more Asian ports in their itineraries.

Last month, Miami-based Royal Caribbean, the world’s largest cruise line, made Singapore a hub for its cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas and confirmed Asia’s newfound love for holiday cruises. Royal Caribbean expects Indians to be the third-largest group of cruise vacationers for the Rhapsody, after Singaporeans and Malaysians.

Another Royal Caribbean ship, Legend of the Seas, one of the fastest cruise ships afloat, may visit Indian ports next year since they were dropped from the vessel’s itinerary after September 11, 2001.

A growing number of cruise ships, apart from leading names such as the Queen Elizabeth 2, Oriana and Amsterdam, are visiting Indian ports such as Mumbai.

Even relatively sleepy Chennai is positioning itself as a major cruise port of call, with the Tamil Nadu state government targeting 600,000 cruise passengers a year by 2010.

India’s Shipping Ministry has formed a high-powered steering group to finalize a cruise-ship policy. More than a dozen luxury cruise ships docked in Chennai in the past year, including Le Lavant, Columbus, Pacific Princess, Spirit of Adventure and Europa Nassau.

Cruiselines India, a cruise operator based in the country’s south, says the response from Indian travelers to cruises recently has been overwhelming. The company claims that the concept of vacationing on ships caught the attention of India’s tourists only after they watched the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic.

Whether that film really set sail India’s love for cruises or not, perceptions are changing about an ocean cruise being only a millionaire’s leisure option. Given highway traffic snarls, the increasing crowds and security-related stress at airports, taking a cruise at a leisurely 23 knots appears a more attractive, gentler-paced way of seeing the world.

“If you can afford to take a hotel-based vacation, you can afford to take a cruise vacation,” assures Houston-based VacationToGo.com, which calls itself a “clearing house for deeply discounted cruises”.

It lists about 30 top cruise companies worldwide, from the Cunard Line’s legendary Queen Elizabeth 2 and Queen Mary 2 Royal to the Caribbean and Carnival with more than 20 cruise ships each.

Think of a cruise ship as a floating resort on par with any Las Vegas mega-hotel, urges VacationToGo.com. Cruise rates range from from budget to luxury and include the cabin, meals, entertainment and all transportation to and from the ports on the itinerary.

Cruise operators are benefiting as providers of an off-beat vacation, given increasing corporate and personal conviction that recreation is not an option but a necessity. “Asian holidaymakers now see cruising as an exciting and value-for-money vacation,” says a promotional note from Hong Kong-based Star Cruises, with its fleet of 21 ships gaining its position as the world’s third-largest cruise operator and the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Gautam Chaddha, a Royal Caribbean representative in India and chief executive of New Delhi-based Tirun Travel, Rhapsody offers “special rates” for Indian residents and senior citizens.

The cruise program also offers two cabins free for Indians if they book two, he says. VacationsToGo.com customers also offers concessions for active police officers, firefighters and teachers in the United States.

Cruise operators are cashing in on Asia’s tourism boom. Last week, Peter de Jong, president and chief executive of the Thailand-based Pacific Asia Travel Association, said Asia will become the epicenter of tourism for the world, driven mainly by the world’s two fastest-growing economies, China and India.

“The emerging new population of first-time travellers out of India and China is the big story for this region,” Jong said. “Literally millions who never traveled for the first time are now acquiring means to explore the world.”

Jong pointed out that the top three tourist campaigns in the world – “Malaysia Truly Asia”, “Amazing Thailand” and “Incredible !ndia” – have positioned Asia as a great vacation destination.

Cruise options too are increasing, ranging from a three-night weekend relaxer to a 110-night, around-the-world voyage. Theme cruises are taking off that are angled on subjects such as art, health and well-being, history and culture, hobby and sports, music, singles and special events.

Given the cruise options, the facilities and capacity to house more than 2,000 guests, some creative thinking could expand frontiers. The Rhapsody on the Seas, for instance, offers a rock-climbing wall, an open atrium with a shopping arcade, an outdoor pool, themed refreshment rooms and lounges, six whirlpools, an indoor/outdoor pool in a solarium with a retractable roof, the Adventure Ocean Youth program, multi-level dining rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, and the Shipshape Day Spa and Fitness Center.

Floating townships and cruising corporate offices might be the next great idea, with a Tata or a Toyota maybe opening a floating branch office on the seas to beat real-estate prices. After all, the Earth is mostly ocean waters, and cruise ships could be a way of making more use of it.

Report by The Mole

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