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STB is working to offer a collaborative and better-quality cruising product[SINGAPORE] Singapore is targeting to welcome 1.迷你倉尖沙咀5 million cruise passengers by 2015, up from the 913,000 that sailed into the island last year, as it sets its sights on winning a sizable slice of the rapidly growing Asian cruise industry.The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) believes it is able to hit these numbers as the sector in Singapore and the region is still in a nascent stage and has strong growth potential, especially if it is able to attract more international cruise passengers here.To help it achieve these targets, STB is already working with Singapore's neighbours to offer a collaborative and better-quality product, with travel operators to increase the appeal of cruising in the region, and with tour operators to enhance passengers' experience here.It is also in talks with more airlines to offer more cruise-fly options.Regionally, STB recognises that the opportunities and growth potential for Singapore in the sector stems from increasing the demand for South-east Asia as a cruise destination. Thus, it is working closely with neighbouring countries as it views cruising as a regional product and not one it should do alone.Consequently, Singapore led a regional effort, jointly with Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, in September this year to improve the awareness the cruise lines have of the region through a familiarisation tour of these countries for 10 cruise executives who are responsible for shore excursions.Besides this, Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive of the STB, told The Business Times that cruise also features high on the Asean platform, as well as bilaterally with Indonesia and Thailand, with a view to working with these governments in the grouping to develop port infrastructure suitable for cruising.STB also has been leading the drive in the region to work with travel and tour operators in improving awareness of cruising in the region as well as to offer an enhanced on-shore experience for passengers.To build demand and awareness of cruising within the region, STB has been working with the cruise lines to understand the needs and preferences of consumers in the Asian source markets and tailoring products and services accordingly.In addition, it also works with the Asian Cruise Association to educate travel agents on the cruise product, with three workshops this year alone for operators in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. "The cruise market is still very travel-agent centric as the cruise product is relatively more complex than buying a point-to-point air ticket because of the different permutations. Since people are still unfamiliar the travel agent becomes an important intermediary in all of this," explained Ms Lachmandas.Further, in addition to port infrastructure, countries also need to have tourism infrastructure as well in themini storageform of an adequate supply of tour guides, coaches and enough attractions to have a good quality on-shore programme. STB is thus exploring how it can develop this infrastructure in Singapore and the region.To offer a more enhanced cruising product, STB is also in exploratory discussions with airlines to broaden the cruise-fly service. Currently, Singapore is the only port in the world to offer cruise-fly services for international passengers cruising out of Singapore to a destination from where they would then fly back to their home country. Other ports only offer such services to their domestic passengers. The seamless service allows international passengers to check in their luggage all the way to a final destination.The airlines currently offering the cruise-fly service in Singapore are Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Jet Airways, but STB is in talks to bring more airlines on board this service in a bid to attract more international passengers to cruise out of Singapore.Based on STB data, the cruise industry in Singapore created about $800 million of impact to the domestic economy in 2010, of which $520 million is attributed to direct spending, which included expenditure by cruise lines, passengers and crew. Of this direct spending amount, international passengers in Singapore spent a total of about $208 million on accommodation, shopping, dining and other expenses.This spending has since grown incrementally as the total cruise passenger spending in Singapore last year amounted to $220 million. But the opening of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre has had a catalytic impact in changing that, according to STB. "That is still a relatively small market, but if you look at the way the big maiden ships are coming in (into Singapore) now, that number (passenger spending) will go up," Ms Lachmandas said.The ability of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre to accommodate these large ships, which carry more than 2,500 passengers each, is a critical factor behind more of these "technical" vessels steaming into Singapore. This year has seen an unprecedented number of maiden calls from these technical ships.Moreover, Ms Lachmandas believes that the opening of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre has also led to big-name cruise groups - namely, Carnival and Celebrity Cruises - setting up in Singapore.Industry observers see significant potential for the cruise industry to grow in the region, as the market penetration rate in Asia, at 0.1 per cent, pales in comparison to the 3.3 per cent in the US. Asian cruise passengers, which numbered 1.3 million in 2012, could grow to 3.8 million in 2020, according to the Asian Cruise Association.With a tropical climate and cultural diversity in the region, South-east Asia stands to gain a large portion of this pie - and STB aims to place Singapore at the heart of this boom.迷你倉