Despite a rapidly opening of borders globally, a recent survey
indicates that travellers are still looking to the high seas for their
next holidays.
The Dream Cruises survey revealed an increasing number of people who
would be more likely to take a cruise within the next 12 months.
Noteworthy is how this group of repeat cruisers increased some 30% year-on-year, with numbers tripled for non-cruisers.
Over at Hong Kong — the latest destination in Genting Dream's cruise
restart — Genting Dream recently celebrated 100 days of safe sailings,
since service resumption in July. The ship has welcomed more than 65,000
cruisers to its “Super Seacation”, and has nearly sold out on every
sailing to date.
Demand for The Palace, an “all-inclusive, all-suite” luxury concept on board Genting Dream, saw a marked increase with consumers willing to splurge more on their holidays.
The cruise line stated that the reason Genting Dream bookings are
showing no signs of slowing down — is due to an “increased awareness of
cruises as a holiday option and stronger market education during the
pandemic” after all international travel came to a grinding halt.
Travel agents have also observed a consistent flow of cruise bookings
despite the rapid increase of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) in
Singapore.
“School holidays and festive sailings have been very well received
and next year's sailings are also selling fast; so overall, we are
observing good demand,” Jeremiah Wong, senior marketing communications
manager of Chan Brothers Travel, said.
The ongoing demand for cruises, even when travel is already permitted
in many countries, may also potentially stem from travellers exercising
caution or looking for a convenient getaway.
“Given that there are increased VTLs, we are still receiving
substantial cruise requests especially for families with younger kids,”
Steven Ler, executive director of UOB Travel Planner said.
Regardless of the reason behind this trend, it is smooth sailing
ahead for Dream Cruises at this point in time, and hopefully it is
indicative of more good tidings to come.