Encouraged by the double digit growth in Indian cruise travellers, Cruiselines are being compelled to make India its Port of Call
Today, India has emerged as a booming market for every destination and every product across the globe. The market which was seen as an emerging market a decade ago, has grown substantially, to an extent that today India if not the number one market, ranks in the top source markets for many countries. And, cruising is one segment which has also tasted some success in this market. A decade ago cruising was for the wealthy, seniors and for the newly married couples. Today, it is attracting all sorts of travellers from India.
Various reports suggest that Asia continues to see rapid growth in deployment and cruise capacity. In 2016, 31 cruise brands were active in Asian waters, deploying a total of 60 ships of which 14 were year -round and another 12 operate for 5 or more months. However, the statistics does not look bright for India. The longer term growth trend reveals India had relatively flat CAGR from 2013 to 2016 at only 2.6 per cent compared to 12.8 per cent in South Asia as a whole, according to CLIA.
According to a recent report by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), cruising from Singapore is steadily becoming one of the key activities Indian travellers consider when planning their holiday itinerary. In 2016, Singapore reported 1.2 million cruise passengers with a double digit growth of 16 per cent as compared to 2015, out of which 100,000 were from India, an increase of 29 per cent over 2015 figures.
This shows that Indians are adapting gradually to cruising segment. Internet has played a major role in educating the consumers. On the other hand, cruise companies and the tourism boards are sharing the knowledge with the travel agent fraternity. Cruise operators from across the globe are now eying this market. Right from river cruising to luxury or expedition cruises, every company is trying to get its chunk of pie from the Indian market.
Current scenario
Currently, Asia is emerging as the next biggest hub for the cruiseliners. Ports like Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Dubai, and the South East Asian ports have become major hubs. Presently, around 15-16 cruiseliners have deployed or are travelling on Asian itineraries. Each of these cruiseliner is looking to include India as a part of its itinerary. Ports like Kochi, Mangalore, and Mumbai are becoming important for cruises, as these destinations not only help as an entry point for the Indian travellers, but are also popular for shore excursions.
Speaking about the India market, Nalini Gupta, Managing Director, Lotus Destinations (GSA of Costa Cruises India) says, “Business is here in India. It’s still a nascent market and need to be developed further. We have a lot of travellers from tier I and also tier II and III cities. South East Asia is a very favourable destination as homeport for the Indian travellers. Cruising is not a seasonal business anymore. MICE and events happen throughout the year.”
There has been a lot of demand for the cruise products from the Indian market. Also now India is in a stage where there is also a high number of repeat clientele who have earlier experienced cruising, which is known to be a value for money product.
Naresh Rawal, Vice President-Sales, Star Cruises said, “India is not really a first time market. In last couple of years, there have been a lot of repeat cruise travellers. People are well versed with the cruising segment and people know about all the products. There is a rising demand for the luxury and the expedition cruising from the India market.”
Some of the most popular cruise companies like Royal Caribbean have been catering to the India market since the inception of cruising business in India. Royal Caribbean has also witnessed that India is the market which need to be looked upon seriously to exploit its utmost potential. “We had a great year in 2016 both in terms of volumes and revenue as we embraced new markets and catered to the people who have high aspiration in lives. As we all know that the cruise business is cyclical, we hope for a promising 2017. We have our ambitious plans to expand in Asia in the coming year. At the same time, we are aware of there will be more and more challenges as we expand in the newer market, but we are sure that expansion in Asia is surly going to boost our business,” Ratna Chadha, Chief Executive, TIRUN stated.
Currently, India as a market is in the experimental mode. Indians are trying fly cruises from the close by destinations, but again there is a segment that is well versed with cruising and is looking to go beyond. Angelo Capurro, Executive Commercial Director, MSC Cruises said that, “Mediterranean and West Mediterranean out of Barcelona and North Europe is the most popular route for the Indian travellers. We are growing a lot from the Dubai market. Indian passengers are the number one market for Dubai and we are seeing growth for cruising from Dubai.”
For the luxury segment India is still in its nascent stage, but cruiseliners are deploying Asian itineraries to target India. Edie Rodriguez, President and CEO, Crystal Cruises said, “Currently, Indian numbers is small, but is growing rapidly. Indian clients are embracing what Crystal wants to offer and Indians are coming with us for river cruising, yacht expeditions. We are an all inclusive brand experience. Every year we go to Asia. We will settle in new ports in Asia. As of now we have a variety of itineraries in Asia, starting from Hong Kong and Singapore. We also come over to India and Sri Lanka. We have our voyages from 5 nights to 128 nights.”
India calling
With cruises witnessing a double digit growth from India year on year, there has been a lot of demand to introduce cruising from India. The Government has also started looking at cruising as a major revenue generator. Recently, the Government invested Rs. 200 crores to develop infrastructure at Mumbai Port. Last year, Genting Dream, the inaugural ship of Dream Cruises entered the Indian waters for the first time on its relocation voyage. In its maiden voyage from Mumbai port, the cruise welcomed 1900 guests from India.
During the inauguration of this very first voyage, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis had said that cruise tourism was the only missing link in Mumbai. With the sailing of Dream Cruises from Mumbai, this city will become the gateway for cruise tourism in India. “We will create all necessary infrastructure required for cruising and we also extend our invitation to all the cruise liners. We will develop a cruise terminal in Mumbai Port under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Our major aim is to develop the entire coastline of Maharashtra,” he said.
Voicing similar opinion, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Shipping and Road Transport, said, “Cruise tourism has a lot of potential in India, earlier it was neglected. Now, we will look to create a passenger terminal in all the major ports in India.”
Genting has witnessed a double digit growth from India last year as a source market. In 2015-16, Genting witnessed a growth of 36 per cent in the number of Indian passengers. Genting is also looking seriously to schedule more sailings from the Mumbai port in near future.
Also, Costa Cruises considered India as a hub for its schedule of 14 sailings from Mumbai. For the first time, Indians embarked on a cruiseliner from Mumbai and travelled to destinations within India such as Goa and Cochin and also to Maldives and Colombo. Costa had deployed its Costa neoClassica vessel which performed a series of weekly sailings from Dec 16, 2016 – March 18, 2017.
Speaking about the success, Gupta said, “The nearer the port, the more is the demand. We had introduced sailings from Mumbai, which has been extremely successful. We didn’t even have to market the Mumbai sailings, and it was sold out. We need to have agents believe in the products, awareness is the key. Now, Government of India has actively started looking at the cruise segment, they have started working to develop India as a cruising destination.”
With these two cruises as inspiration, other cruiseliners are now working out their economics to homeport in Mumbai. Some of the cruises are looking to increase the numbers and then deploy a vessel in India, whereas some are just waiting to see the success rate of India as a cruising hub.
Speaking about plans to introduce cruises from India, Chadha stated, “The government is diligently working at this and is serious to make cruise tourism their business. All barriers are being removed to achieve this objective and I have no doubt, India will become a major cruise hub sooner than later. Further, India has a strategic geographical advantage and we need to exploit this position to the fullest. The fact that there are more ship visits now, proves the point that the environment has changed to attract more cruise lines to Indian shores.”
Angelo Capurro, Executive Commercial Director, MSC Cruises added, “We need to find the right balance and interesting itinerary. In the coming two years, we will try to achieve targets and get a lot of Indian travellers in our ship. What is important is to get the right deployment and easy accessibility for the European market. That can sustain the occupancy of the ship. We are running really high in terms of occupancy. If all things work out, we will surely look at India as a homeport.”
Changing profile
According to a recent consumer survey conducted, in Mumbai, 34 per cent of young Indian families are willing to spend Rs 1, 00,000–2, 00,000 on a cruise holiday. Majorly considered as a vacation avenue for the senior and married couples, cruising is now going through a metamorphosis and witnessing interesting trends. According to a new trend, cruising segment is witnessing a lot of the millennial travellers. Also, cruiseliners are now branding themselves as family destinations to attract multigenerational travellers.
Rawal said, “Cruising is not only for the FIT segment. There is a lot of growth in the special interest group segment. People are coming for conferences, MICE, incentive groups, etc. We have also seen a growth in the single women travellers segment. Celebrations and occasions are a major part of the business. Even when it comes to the wedding segment, cruise is one of the most cost effective mean. There is minimal cost on the infrastructure development for events.”
Some of the newest entrants in the Indian market are eyeing the segments that are looking at luxury, all inclusive cruising. Crystal Cruises, which is one of the cruises catering to the luxury segment, is looking focusing to tap millennial and family market. Edie Rodriguez, President and CEO, Crystal Cruises said, “The target clients are varied. It is for someone who can afford a luxury holiday. It is for someone we have a mix of millennial, multigenerational travellers going with family, couples. We really play to a varied audience.”
Chadha said that, “We have observed that the Indian travellers have turned extremely modern and experimental. They want to seek experiences that are novel and exciting. We are regularly receiving queries for immersive destination excursions, the onboard entertainment options and unparalleled levels of indulgence at sea.”
Echoing similar opinion William Harber, President, China & Asia Pacific, Hurtigruten said, “We see a lot of interest in demand from groups and families that want to experience something unique and special, something that is life-changing and something that not many people have done. It is a very popular cruise in India, both, for coastal Norway as well as for our exploration product. What we want to do is to make sure that we are tapping the growing demand and we are making our brand well known in India than it is now.”
Opulent demand
Internet and technology has played a major role on how we travel. Today, the consumer segment is well read and aware of various products. Earlier, tour operators used to push products in the market, where as now the travellers demand for products which the tour operator may not be even aware of.
Rodriguez said, “I think India is certainly getting wealthier, and there is power for luxury holiday. We are very excited to cater to the India market. We have a mix of Ocean cruise, river cruise and yacht expeditions, all these tours are selling in Indian market. This year we are departing the 32 nights North West passage experience. Even there will be an interest for this itinerary from India market.”
This year, Azamara Journey, one of the luxury cruise line is visiting Indian shores on 9th April sailing to Kochi, Goa and Mumbai. Also, Celebrity Constellation, a premium cruise line is sailing to India on 2nd April visiting Kochi, Goa and Mumbai.
Indian travellers are inquisitive to travel to newer unexplored destinations. Indians are now looking to travel to destinations like the North and South Poles. “There are two things driving growth in India. When we look at a market, we look at the addressable market, that is, the number of people in a given market that can afford to go on these types of holidays. And that number is of course growing very rapidly in India. Besides, there is also a growth in the awareness of cruising overall and the real interest in adventure travel. Hertigruten is attracting not only cruisers that want to take their cruise vacations to the next level, to the ends of the earth, but we are also attracting adventure travellers that perhaps have been already to other destinations and they need a base camp for the North and South Poles,” Harber added.
To sum up, cruiseliners are now compelled to look at the India market more seriously. Overall, cruising as a segment just scratched the tip of the iceberg in India, with only a per cent of the total outbound travellers from India. Luxury and expedition is witnessing some serious queries from this market. The positive still remains that the Government is looking seriously to create cruise infrastructure in the country, with Mumbai as a world class port, this only indicates that more and more cruise travellers can embark from India, which will be a game changing scenario in the cruising segment of Asia.
