Dr. Zinan
Liu, President, North APAC & China, Royal Caribbean International
1. Ovation of the Seas
homeport announcement (Nov 2016)
DERSEVES A STANDING OVATION!
"Last year Quantum
of the Seas has enjoyed a tremendous awareness in Hong Kong with only 3
sailings. We also achieved our first Corporate Chartered Sailing of the largest
and the most technologically advanced ship in Asia from its Hong Kong homeport
and hit a record
revenue of USD 50 million.
"To respond to this strong demand, I am here to announce that we are now deploying Ovation of the Seas, the third Quantum Class ship to Hong Kong this November for a mini-season with 5 sailings including
destinations such as Japan and Taiwan. It will
be the biggest and most technically advanced ship ever
stationed in Hong Kong as a home port in this new market.
"I have just come back
from a trip on Ovation of the Seas in Southampton. The ship was just officially delivered on 8 April. She
will start her global odyssey on 3 May to
China. First she will pass by Hong Kong on 17 June
for an overnight stay. And then she will arrive in Tianjin for her first home port on 24 June.
"For
those of you who are not familiar with the Quantum class, they are
our most innovative and technologically advanced ships with iconic
entertainment such as North Star and ifly. For Ovation of the Seas, we
have 3 significant new elements tailored to our Chinese guests:
1. We are collaborating
with China’s Forbidden City Imperial Palace Museum to bring the first ever
museum showroom on board. The showroom will have a space with displays of
signature items from the Forbidden City and offer souvenirs and art pieces made
by the Forbidden City merchandising team.
2. We will also have
an iconic art piece on deck of a giant panda “Mama and Baby” – which is
considered a symbol of good luck and a national treasure in China.
3. Ovation of the Seas has the
first Chinese lady as international cruise
line Godmother. We have just
announced Fan Bingbing, the
internationally acclaimed actress as Godmother of Ovation of the Seas at a press
conference at the Great Hall of People in Beijing last week.
We look forward to welcoming her and her
family to Ovation of the Seas when the ship arrives at Tianjin.
2.
Market overview
in China and RCI’s confidence
-
Royal Caribbean is very confident in the China and
Hong Kong cruise market and we have increased our annual passenger capacity
by 65% on average year on year since we first entered the market.
-
In the past 3 years, we have spent millions of dollars enhancing our offering specially for Chinese guest. These efforts
include recruiting Chinese staff, Chinese F&B enhancement, ships
revitalizations, market education and
ultimately deployment new ship tailored specifically to this area.
-
As the largest single cruise brand in the world,
Royal Caribbean is always at the forefront of growth. Since we entered the
China homeport market in 2008, passenger growth has increased by 53 %
annually, ahead of the general passenger growth of 47% in Asia as a whole.
We also foresee our growth in Asia in 2016 will be around 64%, setting
another record breaking year for us.
-
In 2016, Royal Caribbean will become the largest
cruise line in terms of both ship number and
total capacity by passenger pax in the region, with Ovation of the Seas, Quantum of the Seas,
Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Legend of the Seas, our 5
ships will make up the largest fleet in China.
3. Strong demand in the Hong Kong market and review of
Voyager of the Seas Homeport season
-
Moving into Hong Kong, since Royal Caribbean
entered the market, we have seen an increasing demand and a very healthy
growth resulting in increased sailings year on year.
-
According to CLIA, Hong Kong is looking at a
cruise potential of 54 million passengers with its connectivity to the
Pearl River Delta, Central China and Taiwan by air, high
speed rail and land transportation via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. These passengers are younger and more family-oriented
compared to traditional Europe market. The innovative offerings and full array
of onboard entertainments of Royal Caribbean is the perfect match to them and
we believe we are the best choice in the market for HK guests.
-
In 2015, the first homeport season result of
Voyager of the Seas was outstanding with around 55,000 guests experienced
the extraordinary journeys. Stepping into 2016 Q1, Voyager of the Seas has
already recorded a strong business especially for the longer itineraries and in
particular suite sales. We also enjoy a high guest retention rate locally at
20%. As a result, we have further extended
Voyager of the Seas’ homeport season to more than 4 months
-
Last
but not least, I would like to pay tribute to the Government of the HKSAR,
the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong
and our preferred 7 sales representatives for supporting Royal Caribbean
to make us such a success.
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