Airlines: Don’t Cruise Past an Opportunity

Airlines were yesterday (February 14) urged to take a closer look at new market opportunities that will be created by the delivery of 12 new cruise ships this year. This is the fastest fleet expansion in the history of the cruise industry.

“Cruise lines are looking for new destinations and new markets, as the traditional cruising markets will not be able to sustain the new ship deliveries. There will be new opportunities in Europe, Latin America and Asia and this means there will be opportunities for airlines,” said Michael Kazakoff, vice president of Cruise Shipping Miami, the annual cruise conference and exhibition, speaking from Routes Americas in Santo Domingo.

“The sustained growth in cruising globally over the past 10 years means that this is clearly a market that airlines’ should not be ignoring,” said Kazakoff. “Cruises are the fastest growing tourism product in the world,” he said, adding that cruise companies are looking for new destinations that can meet their passengers’ needs.

He used the example of Latin America, where the number of cruise passengers have grown over the past five years from 500,000 to 1.2 million. He said this had been generated largely from the Brazilian market as well as fly-in passengers.

He also flagged up Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong as major new cruise destinations of the future.

Kazakoff urged airlines to take a proactive approach to the cruise industry, as cruise passengers can also create major challenges for airlines’ capacity, as well as the port’s tourism infrastructure.

“The trend is towards long-term planning and we want to urge delegates at this event to remember that the cruise industry is a major generator of seats on their airlines.”

Cruise Shipping Miami takes place from March 14–17 in Miami, Florida.