Page 15 - 2020 China Market Report

China
The Explorer
Dream is set
for a winter
in Australia/
New Zealand.
After being introduced in April, the Explorer Dream, which
transferred from sister brand Star Cruises, spent the summer
sailing from Chinese ports.
“We were able to identify a market gap, perfect for a mid-
size ship like the Explorer Dream to cater to seasoned cruis-
ers,” said Goh.
Deployment
This winter the company makes another major step, as the
Explorer Dream moves to Australia and New Zealand. The
ship’s 21-night repositioning cruise was sold out as of August.
Other highlights include seven-night cruises to Tasmania,
which are performing well, Goh said.
“We continue to focus our sourcing of passengers from dif-
ferent market tiers and segments,” he continued. “We are ac-
tively developing the fly-cruise segment from the Asia region
with various packages and collaborations with airlines and key
travel partners.”
The Genting Dream will continue to sail from Singapore
into 2020, with new calls to Christmas Island and Belitung,
along with popular hotspots in Phuket, Penang, Palawan, Lang-
kawi, Kota Kinabalu, Koh Samui and more.
The World Dream will continue to mainly homeport
year-round out of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, offering pre-
dominately shorter sailings. There are also 10 homeport calls
planned in Taiwan in 2020.
Company financial filings have also pointed to Europe and
Alaska as potential future deployment options.
“Northern Europe and the Mediterranean have always been
on our radar as they are the most popular outbound destinations
for many Asian travelers,” Goh noted.
Building Up
Dream’s new Global-class ships will be huge, and built by
company-owned MV Werften. Features include a rollercoaster,
large cabins and a tailored-made design for the Chinese mar-
ket. The handover of the first ship is scheduled in early 2021 in
Germany, Goh said.
The company is promising a next-generation cruise experi-
ence on the Global-class vessels, with state-of-the art robot-
ics, artificial intelligence and digital systems such as facial and
voice recognition and more, eliminating classic “pain points”
in managing guests flow to provide a seamless end-to-end ex-
perience.
Generating demand ahead of growth, key source markets for
the Dream brand are China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South
Korea, Singapore, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and emerging
new markets like Indochina, Goh explained, with additional
seasonal homeport markets such as Australia and New Zealand.
“This also includes tapping into Asians that are already trav-
eling overseas with the opportunity to extend their vacations
with a cruise voyage, together with the many Asians living
abroad,” he added.
Channels
Genting has been well ahead of other cruise brands in China,
moving into various ports ahead of other companies and devel-
oping new source markets.
The company has recently launched a one-day Greater Bay
cruise from Hong Kong to Nansha (Guangzhou) for potential
customers to sample the product aboard the World Dream.
“It is our goal to optimize the many
different sales channels to ensure
we reach consumers effectively.”
Utilizing a variety of sales channels in China, from corporate
charters to travel agents, Goh said the company was working
aggressively to expand its direct distribution, especially online.
“It is our goal to optimize the many different sales channels
to ensure we reach consumers effectively,” he said. “Our travel
partners will remain as our key strategies and we continue to
expand our reach and build a strong win-win relationship.”
Asked about pricing issues and oversupply in China, Goh
responded: “It depends on the cruise lines and their travel part-
ners but as mentioned, Dream Cruises continues to focus on
creating value and not solely on pricing. We have pioneered the
China cruise market and remain optimistic on our continued
growth in one of the biggest growing markets for Asia.” ¾
Cruise Industry News: 2020 China Market Report 69