Three companies aim to continue growing Southeast Asia’s appeal as a ‘fly and cruise’ destination
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Costa Cruises, Changi Airport Group and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have signed a second tripartite agreement to continue growing Southeast Asia’s appeal as a ‘fly and cruise’ destination.
Over the next three years, the companies will launch joint marketing initiatives in the various countries where Costa operates, promoting Singapore as a cruise hub.
“With Changi Airport’s strong air connectivity to more than 400 cities worldwide, Singapore is well-positioned to serve as a cruise hub for the region,” said Lim Ching Kiat, managing director for Air Hub Development at Changi Airport Group. “We are excited to enter a second tripartite partnership with Costa Cruises and Singapore Tourism Board, as this will provide greater opportunity to grow the ‘fly and cruise’ segment – part of our strategy to provide sustained growth for our partners and the Changi air hub.”
The companies expect the marketing initiatives will bring more than 100,000 international ‘fly and cruise’ visitors to Singapore over the next three years. This will help to further increase cruise ship calls and passenger numbers, which hit 421 and 1.38 million in 2017 respectively.
“Costa Cruises is a valued partner that has homeported out of Singapore for over 10 years,” said Yap Chin Siang, assistant chief executive, Policy and Planning Group of STB. “This latest collaboration will leverage Costa’s strong brand in key long-haul markets in Europe to further diversify our cruise visitor source markets and strengthen Singapore’s position as the region’s homeport of choice.”
Costa Cruises, which became the first international cruise company to offer regular sailings from Asia in 2006, will also continue to base its ships in the region for the next three years. Currently, it homeports four vessels in Asia and the 3,470-guest Costa Fortuna will reposition from the Far East to Singapore this November.
“Costa Cruises is a pioneering company in the cruise market, constantly innovating its product offer in order to deliver guests an unforgettable cruise holiday experience,” said Neil Palomba, president of Costa Cruises. “We are thrilled to strengthen the opportunity to further develop such an exotic destination like Singapore, where Costa has a longstanding presence, and which offer a big potential for the cruise holiday market thanks also to the presence of the international Changi Airport.”