Face-to-Face: Steve Odell
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Travel Daily Asia chats to Steve Odell, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ Senior Vice President & Managing Director for Asia Pacific, about his company’s expansion in the Asia Pacific region…
Q) Norwegian Star sailed to Asia Pacific this year, marking NCL’s return to the region for the first time in a decade. How well received were these itineraries among Asian passengers?
We are seeing tremendous growth and demand for cruising in Asia and we are looking forward to seeing more Norwegian Cruise Line ships sailing this part of the world in the near future.
We are thrilled to see the return of Norwegian Star in the Asia Pacific region this year. Recently refurbished, it’s proving very popular and we anticipate very positive results. Norwegian Star will arrive in Singapore in December 2016, cruising the region for the rest of the year to destinations such as Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Bali.
We are also anticipating the arrival of Norwegian Cruise Line’s most innovative ship to date, the Norwegian Joy. It is set to make its debut in China in the summer of 2017. This new ship is in response to demand from Chinese travellers looking for a world-class cruising experience and we believe this will satisfy all of their needs.
Q) You have also revealed plans to homeport the brand new Norwegian Joy in Asia in 2017. How will this vessel cater to the needs of Asian travellers?
The Norwegian Joy will be making its big debut in the summer of 2017 in China. This is the fleet’s most innovative ship to date and was styled exclusively for the modern Chinese traveller. Norwegian Cruise Line spared no expenses, from the upscale resort-style vacation with world-class entertainment to a wide range of specially curated fine international dining and unrivalled duty-free luxury shopping. As always, guests will be able to have the freedom and flexibility onboard and enjoy an abundant array of activities on the high seas or on land. The Norwegian Joy will port in Shanghai and Tianjin.
Q) With more new-build ships in the pipeline, can we expect any further Asian vessels and deployments from NCL in the coming years?
The launch of the Norwegian Joy in China next year will set the pace for what’s to come in the next few years. We believe this will be the beginning of a whole new era for the cruising industry in Asia. Another exciting development for the Asia Pacific market is that Norwegian Jewel will be based in the region from November 2017. Following her Australian season, Norwegian Jewel will undertake a range of exotic Asian itineraries visiting Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Korea and more.
Q) With many Western cruise companies already relatively well-established in Asia, is NCL perhaps a little late entering the market? And if so, what are you doing to catch up?
We are ramping-up activities in Asia as we believe our offering is strong and will appeal to Asian travellers. To help solidify NCL’s leading position within the cruising industry globally and especially in Asia, we have committed significant investment to invigorate our fleet and introduce a new standard of excellence.
The Norwegian encompasses the entire guest experience, from ship hardware to culinary enhancements and exclusive private destination development. It reflects a significant two-year US$400 million investment by the company through 2017. Coincidentally, our most recent ship refurbishment is the Norwegian Star, which will be in Asia from December 2016. The ship will make stops in some exciting destinations and we’re hopeful it will entice other travellers to book with us in the future.
In addition, Norwegian Jewel will be based in the Asia Pacific region with departures to and from Australia beginning November 2017.
Q) What steps are you taking to educate the Asian travel trade about your regional expansion plans?
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has established a phenomenal network across Asia Pacific. To better assist in the region, we opened our Asian head office in Sydney last November plus other offices recently opened in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and two offices in India – New Delhi and Mumbai.
With these new offices, NCLH is able to better support our travel partners and forge mutually-beneficial partnerships and provide our guests a range of enhanced services, specially tailored to their respective preferences. This also helps to ensure that local agencies are serviced from this hubs and well prepared with relevant and accessible information to promote NCLH’s itineraries, including those for Norwegian Cruise Line.
NCL has been engaging agents on a web-based travel agent portal dubbed Norwegian Central. Launched in 2010, this serves as the one-stop location for travel agents, easing access to Norwegian’s marketing headquarters, NCL University, the line’s new booking engine and more. NCL also provides famils onboard for our partner agents.
Q) Long-term, what proportion of your business do you expect to come from Asia Pacific?
NCLH strives to cater to all markets, including Asia Pacific which is a rapidly growing market for us. We take great pride in researching the local demands that will ultimately enhance the overall guest experience aboard our ships.
Southeast Asia continues to be a high-growth region due to a rapidly emerging middle-class. Cruising has, over the years, become more accessible for travellers. Another strong market with high potential for us is China. Among the nearly 2.1 million cruise passengers from Asia, China accounted for almost half of the regional passenger volume in 2015. We anticipate a boost following the launch of Norwegian Joy. The attention it has garnered to date is vast and promises to become one of Norwegian Cruise Line’s top-hitter especially the modern Chinese travellers. In addition, Norwegian Star and Jewel will also bring excitement to Asia Pacific with numerous visits in the region.
Long-term, we have committed significant investment to this market by introducing new ships, revitalising current fleet and customizing overall experience for the Asian markets.
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