Princess Cruises to further capitalize on Indonesia’s strong cruise market and strengthen its offerings in the region

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Responding to the strong demand from Indonesian cruise travelers and consumers, Princess Cruises will be broadening its portfolio of offerings for the region.

Responding to the strong demand from Indonesian cruise travelers and consumers, Princess Cruises will be broadening its portfolio of offerings for the region. The cruise line will incorporate new segments of itineraries as well as an additional sailing to its inaugural homeporting season in Southeast Asia. At the same time, Princess Cruises will also introduce exclusive onboard offerings.

Indonesia’s Cruise Market Potential
Indonesia’s cruise market offers many opportunities for growth. Princess Cruises is witnessing an emerging demographic of cruise travelers from the Indonesian and Southeast Asian market as more first-timers and young adults express a desire to go on a cruise. Compared to other markets in Europe and North America, cruise travel is less highly regarded for older travelers in Indonesia and the region.

Meanwhile, figures for the cruise industry clearly reflect an upward trend. According to the Ministry for Tourism and Creative Economy, 160,000 passengers arrived in Indonesia by cruise in 2013, with an increase to 203,000 passengers expected by the end of 2014.

Similarly, there were 300 cruise ship calls to Indonesia in 2013, a 44% increase from 2012, with 385 expected in 2014. Furthermore, Indonesia’s strategic location in the heart of Southeast Asia, year-round warm weather, and 17,000 islands and calm seas holds plenty of potential for cruise tourism.

“Indonesia is one of the key markets for Princess Cruises and we are proud to play our part in developing this growing cruise industry” said Farriek Tawfik, Director for Southeast Asia, Princess Cruises. “Our partners and travel agents have been very supportive and we have been making inroads into this market through strong relationships with all our key stakeholders.”

For outbound cruise travel, Mr Tawfik also said that the itineraries for Alaska and the Caribbean and the Mediterranean have been increasing in popularity with Indonesians. As such, Princess Cruises is launching an intensive marketing program in this market, by participating in local travel fairs and meeting regularly with travel agents in key Indonesian cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan.

Princess Cruises’ New Offerings
Buoyed by the optimistic forecast for customer demand, Princess Cruises will be extending the homeporting season of the Sapphire Princess in this region with a 17-day Grand Asia tour. This popular Asia itinerary will feature calls at Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Busan and Beijing in March 2015.

New cruise itineraries have also been segmented from the current sailings in December, including a six-night cruise from Singapore to Bali and Kuala Lumpur, and a four-night cruise from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Phuket and Singapore. These cruises were created to cater to Indonesian families’ demand for short-haul trips during the December school holidays.

Lastly, exclusive Princess Cruises onboard offerings will be made available to guests on Sapphire Princess, including the newly-launched ‘Chocolate Journeys’ which includes chocolate spa treatments and desserts in addition to new luxury boutiques and brands.

“We are witnessing tremendous growth and demand in the market for our homeporting seasons in the region and we hope that our enhanced itinerary and onboard offerings will continue to appeal to our valued Indonesian guests”, said Mr Tawfik. “We are very excited about bringing Sapphire Princess to Indonesia where it will visit Bali, Lombok and Komodo Island”. Sapphire Princess has a passenger capacity of 2,670 and 1,000 crew.

Princess Cruises currently operates a fleet of 18 ships and is building a new ship in Italy that will enter service in 2017, with a passenger capacity of 3,600.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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