To Whom It May Concern:
We came across this information in the trades and thought it would be of
interest to this newsgroup as well.
Happy sailing,
John Sisker, SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll free at (800) 724-6644 & (pogo ID: 714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has initiated a two-year
plan to develop the region as an attractive cruise destination. There are
also plans to improve port infrastructure to cater to larger ships and
higher volume of passengers.
ASEAN includes Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines,
Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma.
"Some 1.2 million tourists are expected to cruise Asia by 2020, and ASEAN
wants to capture at least half of that market as soon as possible," reported
Channel News Asia. "The ASEAN cruise industry is currently not in the same
league as Caribbean cruises, but it's aiming high and hopes to woo tourists
from the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand."
The region needs a concerted effort to become a compelling cruise
destination, Singapore's Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran
told The Straits Times.
"We will work closely with the cruise industry, the cruise lines as well as
cruise agencies and industry associations in the business. We hope to launch
a program to do seminars to the travel industry. Secondly with the
associations, to tap on the expertise of training cruise specialists around
the world, reportedly said Kevin Leong, senior director, Special Projects,
Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
Other than sea links, air links are also being discussed.
Iswaran referred to an open aviation regime, which will pave the way for
more flights and competitive airfares. This, in turn, will give ASEAN member
states the extra boost to emerge into booming tourism markets. ASEAN is also
bringing forward a plan to permit unlimited flights between the capital
cities of member countries by next year, according to media. Singapore,
Thailand and Brunei already have the freedom to fly to each other's cities.
Last year ASEAN attracted over 56 million visitors; an eight percent jump
over 2005. Among these, intra-ASEAN travel accounted for 49 percent of the
arrivals. The group also came up with a plan to disseminate information
quickly in the event of a crisis or disaster.
"The gap between perception and reality can be significant and particularly
in the immediate aftermath of a crisis or an adverse event, that gap can be
quite wide, so the ability to marshal our services and mount an effective
communication campaign is important, especially at the early stages in order
to get accurate information out in a timely manner and in order to reassure
tourists to the extend that we think that businesses will continue as usual
in the unaffected parts," reportedly said Iswaran.
eTN (TravelWireNews)
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