Phoenix Tours International Inc (鳳凰國際旅行社) aims to increase sales in its cruise business to more than 10 percent of its total sales next year, citing strong demand for cruise travel in Asia.
Phoenix Tours made the forecast after announcing that it is to share the position of sole agent in Taiwan for an around-the-world cruise sailing from China in March next year with Best Way Travel Service Co Ltd (百威旅行社).
The cruise is being organized by Italian company Costa Cruises — a brand under Costa Crociere SPA.
The tour, to be undertaken by the cruise ship Costa Atlantica, is scheduled to start in Shanghai on March 1 next year and take passengers to 28 destinations in 18 nations in 86 days, with a full-package price starting at about NT$800,000 (US$26,500) per person.
“This is the first time that a cruise organizer has planned a cruise tour especially for Asian tourists,” Jessica Lin (林仟真), the travel agency’s assistant general manager of the cruises department, told reporters after the tour was announced yesterday.
Lin said more global cruise organizers are finding strong potential for development in the cruise tour market in Asia.
The latest market research in the industry show that the number of cruise tour passengers globally could increase to 30 million by 2030, with Asian passengers accounting for one-third of the total, Lin said.
The forecast incorporated a faster rise in the number of Asian passengers than the rest of the world, as the number of cruise tourists from Asia accounted for just 10 percent of the 10 million passengers globally in 2010, statistics showed.
This is what sparked Phoenix Tours’ optimism that the sales proportion of its cruise sector might reach 10 percent of total sales this year, compared with the 5 percent recorded last year, and continue to grow next year, Lin said.
Lin said that the tourism agency has also signed an agreement with the US-based cruise organizer Princess Cruise Lines Ltd to charter eight cruises next year.
In addition, Phoenix Tours is still in discussions with Costa Cruises about chartering more cruises next year, in addition to the around-the-world cruise, she added.
Phoenix Tours is set to charter six cruises this year — four by Costa Cruises and two by Princess Cruise Lines — with four other travel agencies in Taiwan.
Phoenix Tours, one of only two tourism agencies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, saw consolidated sales total NT$3.11 billion for the whole of last year, up 3.98 percent from 2012, the company’s financial data showed.
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