By Sharina Ahmad
ROYAL Caribbean International has entered into a new multimillion-dollar marketing partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Changi Airport Group to promote fly-cruises.
This five-year tripartite collaboration, the longest ever, is expected to bring some 623,000 international fly-cruise visitors to Singapore, and generate over S$430 mil (RM1.3 bil) in tourism receipts between now and 2024.
The partnership comes with the news of the cruise line’s five-year Quantum Class deployment in Singapore, which includes Quantum of the Seas, one of Asia’s largest and most revolutionary cruise ships.
Spurring growth in fly-cruise segment
To kick off the partnership, Quantum of the Seas arrives fresh from multimillion-dollar refurbishment for the six-month homeporting season in Singapore – Royal Caribbean’s longest Singapore deployment for a Quantum Class ship – which is expected to add some 150,000 guests to the local cruising scene.
According to the cruise line, Singapore’s homeport status, world-class port infrastructure, and seamless connectivity to other destinations around the world positions the city-state as a crucial port of call in Royal Caribbean’s regional strategy.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd Asia-Pacific managing director Angie Stephen says: “Travel habits are constantly evolving, and holidaymakers in the region are increasingly looking to visit and explore more destinations in one vacation trip.
“Alongside STB and Changi Airport Group, we aim to offer more reasons for travellers to come to Singapore for a fly-cruise experience. This tripartite partnership marks a significant milestone in our 50th year as a global cruise brand, and our work here in Singapore has played a huge role in driving our growth regionally.
“Together with the five-year homeporting season of our Quantum Class ships, it sets the stage for us to further grow Singapore as the cruise hub of Asia, preparing the region for larger deployments in the future, where we will welcome even newer and bigger ships,” she adds.
The five-year partnership is expected to generate at least 60% higher tourism receipts than the previous partnerships combined. The first partnership ran from 2015 to 2018 to market Mariner of the Seas, followed by another three-year partnership launched in 2017 for Ovation of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas. Both partnerships have generated strong receipts of S$260 mil.
The cruise line sails 26 of the world’s most innovative cruise ships to the most popular destinations in Bermuda and the Caribbean, Europe, Canada, New England and Alaska in the US, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
New experiences for a changing market
Royal Caribbean also announced new amenities on the Quantum of the Seas, including an escape room and glow-in-the-dark laser tag, both of which are set to raise the bar for multi-generational travel experiences.
These are on top of the ship’s iconic first-in-industry North Star elevated glass capsule, a skydiving simulator, Bionic Bar (two robotic bartenders), bumper cars and high-tech entertainment shows.
“The Singapore Biennale offers rich opportunities for Singaporeans to experience and be curious about the contemporary art of Southeast Asia while expanding its visibility and scholarship in the region,” says Stephen. – Jan 10, 2020
[box]Singapore Biennale invites the public to take steps in the right direction
Singapore Biennale 2019 (SB2019) returns for its sixth edition, with 77 artists and art collectives from 36 countries and territories.
Titled “Every Step in the Right Direction”, the international contemporary art exhibition invites the public to engage with the act of artistic exploration, drawing on the importance of making choices and taking steps to consider the conditions of contemporary life and the human endeavour for change.
Commissioned by the National Arts Council and organised by Singapore Art Museum, SB2019 runs until March 22, 2020 across 11 venues in the city-state.
With a strong focus on Southeast Asia, the sixth edition welcomes over 150 works across a breadth of mediums including film, installation, sound art and performance, as well as new commissions and works that have never been presented in contemporary art biennales and exhibitions internationally.
SB2019’s opening weekend will feature programmes for the public, including artist performances, curator and artist tours and talks.
This year’s theme refers to the ethical imperative for both artists and audiences to make choices and take steps to reflect on the conditions of contemporary life.
It puts its faith squarely in the transformative potential of the artist to rework the world and invites the audience to be open to such a work and to a world that is made different through it.
With the artistic and curatorial direction anchored in regional history, SB2019 aims to reflect on pressing concerns relevant to the global cultural community through the artworks presented.
This is done through festival-seminars, where action and reflection are interwoven through the presentation of convivial, participatory, and community-responsive projects and reflective, archival, and research-oriented works.
Led by artistic director Patrick Flores, the team of six Singapore Biennale curators have both independent and institutional backgrounds in the region, bringing together a wide spectrum of interests and experiences that afford opportunities for invigorating conversations and deliberations.
[/box]
