ASEAN growth to be featured at second annual Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific Conference

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific –conference and trade show focusing on the emerging Asia-Pacific cruise industry— today announced details of its second Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific event, which returns in 2012 to the Mariana Bay Sands in Singapore. From the organizers of Cruise Shipping Miami, the premier event for the cruise industry, the two day program, September 17-18, 2012, will include an international trade show floor, a comprehensive conference program highlighting the region, social programs for delegates, travel agent training, and business matching for exhibitors and visitors.

The 2012 event follows the success of the inaugural Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific trade show and conference in 2011, which was well received by attendees and exhibitors alike and is supported by the Asia Cruise Association and is the only event supported by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

The Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific conference will be formatted to host 4 key plenary sessions and a choice of 8 individual masterclasses all designed to focus on education and collaboration during the event. Previous Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific conference presenters have included high-level speakers from firms such as: Royal Caribbean Cruises, the Asian Cruise Association, Orion Expeditions, and Mitsui OSK Passenger Line. Further speaker updates are to be announced in due course.

Highlighting the expanding infrastructure within the entire Asia-Pacific region, the Cruise Shipping conference plenary sessions will begin with a state of the industry discussion by C-suite executives and be complemented by discussions on new build, refurbishment and refitting, destination planning and development and reaching the burgeoning Asian customer market. In-depth discussion on customer experience, travel agent engagement, government involvement and ports and development will be featured in the masterclasses.

“A key factor in staying ahead in any industry is to constantly keep an eye on what is ahead. In the changing cruise industry, it is important for companies to identify how to move with the trends and risks associated with global expansion,” said Daniel Read, Portfolio Director, UBM – Cruise Group. “With Singapore seeing nearly a million cruise passengers in 2011 and the Australian cruise industry shortly expected to be worth $1.1 billion, the second annual Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific event is an exciting opportunity for us to address customer needs for identifying strategies to succeed in today’s opportunity-rich market.”

Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific 2012 will include a tradeshow and conference program focusing on the Asian cruise market. The exhibition will feature destinations, itinerary planning, shore excursion services, port and terminal development as well as ship operations, ship services and hotel operations.