Tom Stieghorst
Creating a cruise business in Asia has so far been the province of large cruise brands such as Costa, Star and Royal Caribbean. But small luxury lines are also taking a quiet look at the market.
A forum on cruising to Hong Kong drew executives in charge of destination planning from lines such as Silversea Cruises, Sea Dream Yacht Club and Azamara Club Cruises.
Several said they were exploring how to source business in Asia, especially in the region’s colossus, China.
“We have routine discussions in our office about how [to] tap into the mainland Chinese market,” said Mike Pawlus, director of strategic itinerary planning and scheduling at Silversea.
The potential for growth in China has every cruise line salivating. A continued easing of travel restrictions allowed some 80 million Chinese to travel abroad last year. By 2020, China is projected to surpass the U.S. and Germany as the world’s top tourism exporting country.
China’s economic boom has produced a cadre of wealthy potential cruisers almost overnight. It wouldn’t take many of them to fill a Silver Shadow (382 guests) or an Azamara Quest (694 guests), much less a SeaDream I (110 guests).
“Within a very short time, there’s going to be a market here for year-round luxury vessels,” said Graeme Adams, vice president for voyage planning, port and land programs at SeaDream.
One low-risk way for luxury lines to test demand is to slip several short cruises marketed in China into a season of cruises in Asia sold primarily to U.S. and European travelers.
For smaller lines, getting the marketing and distribution set up without incurring excessive costs would be one of the biggest challenges. But it is one the luxury lines are actively sizing up.
“We see great potential for our small luxury brands in the Asian market,” Adams said.