Star Cruises staged a glitzy and glamourous gala dinner in Mumbai on Nov. 9 recognize outstanding performance by the company’s travel agencies in India.
“Star Cruises has recorded encouraging growth in India in recent years, with the number of Indian passengers increasing 44.5% from 2008 to 2012. This success can be attributed to Star Cruises’ deep understanding of Indian travellers’ holiday and MICE preferences. More importantly, our success in India is also made possible by the robust network of travel agency partners through which Star Cruises’ fly-cruise and cruise packages are promoted to the Indian market,” said Mr William Ng, Star Cruises Chief Operating Officer.
He continued, “We are grateful for our partners’ continuous support and look forward to working together in further developing the market. Together we will strive for the continued growth of the cruise industry in Asia-Pacific.”
The gala dinner and award night, themed “Night of the Stars”, was an occasion for Star Cruises to highlight the commitment and ingenuity that travel partners have devoted to the company.
Attended by more than 200 tourism professionals from different parts of India, the dinner was officiated by Mr Ng, Mr Michael Goh, Star Cruises Senior Vice President, Sales and Ms Vivian Sim, Genting Hong Kong Senior Vice President Corporate Communications & PR. The dinner was also graced by Ms Clara Yap, Area Director, South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board and Mr G.B Srithar, Area Director, South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board, Mr. Sethaphan Buddhani, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Mr Zulkifli Mohamed, Deputy Director, Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board.
At the dinner, the 12 preferred sales agencies were recognized with Best Partnership Awards (Travel Tours Pvt Ltd, Thomas Cook India Ltd, Kuoni Travel India Pvt. Ltd, JTB Travels Pvt. Ltd, Gainwell Enterprises Pvt. Ltd, Guideline Travels LLP, Globotel Pvt. Ltd, Discovery 21st Century Agencies Pvt. Ltd, D Pauls Travel & Tours Pvt. Ltd, Ark Holidays LLP, Cox & Kings Ltd and Club 7 Holidays Pvt. Ltd). Based on their sales performance, five of these agencies were named the Best Travel Agency (5th Position – D Pauls Travel & Tours Pvt. Ltd, 4th Position – Thomas Cook India Ltd, 3rd Position – Travel Tours Pvt. Ltd, 2nd Position – Guideline Travels LLP, 1st Position – Ark Holidays LLP).
Star Cruises will continue to strengthen the relationship with the Indian travel agencies in coming years to further promote our cruise products to India. SuperStar Gemini, currently undergoing a US$50 million refurbishment, will commence her service with our fleet in 2013. The 50,764-tonnage vessel will have a passenger capacity of 1,532 and will commence deployments in Penang in January, Sanya in February and March, and then she will be homeported in Shanghai from April calling at North Asian destinations. In addition SuperStar Aquarius has returned to Sanya on 2 Nov for a second seasonal deployment calling at Halong Bay and Danang.
