Royal Caribbean Cruises (Asia) has expanded its MICE department’s reach this year beyond corporate companies in Singapore to other South-east Asia’s emerging cruise markets like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Angie Stephen, Royal Caribbean’s managing director, Asia Pacific, said: “There is a lot of potential for growth in emerging markets such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia especially from verticals such as multi-level marketing companies and insurance. The cruise market for corporate meetings and incentives is more mature in Singapore, as we have been developing it since our Asia-Pacific office in Singapore was set up 11 years ago.
“Many corporate companies don’t realise that they needn’t pay extra for meeting spaces, audio visual equipment, meals, entertainment and a variety of activities on-board. It is all included in the package price.”
She said business events currently make up a small percentage of the total overall business, which is largely driven by leisure. She added: “Popular cruises are three- to five-night cruise experiences out of Singapore, but corporate organisers also like to minimise time out of the office and minimise travel times.”
Currently, group sizes for corporate groups on Royal Caribbean International from this region range from 50 to 400 people.
This May will see a new liner deployed to Asia, Spectrum of the Seas, which is purpose-built for the Asian market. The ship will offer three-, four- and nine-night sailings.
Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas will homeport in Singapore for six months from November with four- and five-night sailings within the region.
“We’ll be educating the corporate sector and meeting planners on both these ships as well as others through site inspections, online training, sales tool kits and our meeting planners guide,” said Stephen.
