By
Michele Witthaus |
Speakers at the Monday opening session of the World Cruise Tourism Summit in Miami examined pressing issues facing growing markets for cruising.
Melvin Vu, CEO of SATS-Creuers Cruise Services, spoke of the rapid rise of disposable income in China and the region, saying that Chinese wealth was set to grow by 90 per cent by 2016. He remarked: "China is getting rich faster and we are very bullish about the Asia source market. There has been immense investment in China cruise developments as well as in Indonesia." He added that Hong Kong's Kai Tak terminal was an important new resource and that Singapore's new cruise terminal would allow large vessels to call for the first time ever. Vu said that Changi Airport was becoming a crucial hub for cruise travel arrivals as it had 5,500 weekly flights to 206 cities.
Discussion continued on the subject of challenges to international companies in facilitating cross-border cruise development. Ricardo Amaral, chairman of ABREMAR and group managing director of Royal Cribbean Brazil, Mexico and Latin America, said: "I believe all countries want to increase distribution and that companies should establish themselves in the countries they want to work with." He acknowledged that the lack of a common currency and the presence of different tax systems complicated the sales situation in growing markets such as South America.
Speakers also addressed the issues for source market development and focused on the return of cruise vessels to countries such as Tunisia after the disruptions caused by the Arab Spring. Tim Marking of the European Cruise Council commented: "This situation illustrates the uniquely mobile characteristics of the cruise industry, as it has been possible to redeploy vessels from the region very quickly."