ER
THE enthusiasm of Asian tourists who want to enjoy a more relaxed vacation with cruise ships is increasing from year to year.
According to the Director of Southeast Asia Region Princess Cruises, a cruise ship provider, Farriek Tawfik said that in 2014 there were around 2.5 million passengers from Asia who boarded a cruise ship. This year, there are about five million passengers from Asia, with good growth, most from China.
“Globally, Farriek explained that there are two million guests who board a cruise ship from the company every year to 380 destinations around the world. Indonesia is also one of the potential markets for cruise tourism businesses because of its large population and increasingly strong economic power,” he said.
He also explained, short cruise is still a favorite, such as Southeast Asia, Japan and Taiwan routes. But he said Indonesian consumers also had a list of favorite destinations for day trips on cruise ships, including Alaska, Russia and Europe.
“Depending on the market segment, millennials like close destinations such as Singapore due to constraints on the number of leave that is not necessarily large. But there are also those who like to tour Japan, Europe and Alaska,” Farriek said.
He added, Indonesia was also one of the pleasurehouses for tourists who boarded cruise ships. Some of them are Bali, Semarang, Surabaya, Lombok, Probolinggo to Komodo Island. But in the next two years, it does not plan to add a new stopover in Indonesia that can be explored by tourists who take pleasure on a cruise ship.
“Maybe after that there is, if the infrastructure is good. There are many factors that must be prepared in choosing a city to be a stopover place. In addition to a feasible port, facilities such as parking lots, tour buses, guides to tourist destinations must also be considered,” he concluded. [antaranews/photo special]
