Genting Cruise Lines, which oversees Star and Dream Cruises, and China Southern Airlines, which has the largest air fleet by capacity in Asia, have signed a fly-cruise deal.

Under the agreement, the two industry companies have pledged to “take the fly-cruise travel concept into a new era and contribute to the development of Guangzhou as a world-class cruise homeport and travel hub,” according to a statement.

Kent Zhu, President of Genting Cruise Lines and Laijun Luo, Director General of the Commercial Steering Committee at China Southern Airlines, led the signing ceremony attended by over 100 guests including Aiying Tan, Deputy Director, Tourism Administration of the Guangzhou Municipality and Genting Cruise Lines senior executives, Yvette Yuan, Head of Sales and Senior Vice President as well as Dongliang Li, Senior Vice President of the Sales Division.

Genting and China Southern will pull together their resources in product development, sales, marketing and promotions to create innovative, unique and competitive travel products, such as the new “Air + Cruise + Travel” program targeting MICE, group and individual travellers, the two companies said, in a joint statement.

The agreement will be rolled out in two phases: the first involves cross-promotion to corporate staff and affiliates of both parties, followed by a full-fledged promotion campaign in the market to drive domestic and international travel across all sales channels.

“As the first cruise line dedicated to the development of the industry in Southern China, Genting Cruise Lines is pioneering this cross-industry strategic collaboration with China Southern Airlines to initiate the full-fledged launch of the fly-cruise concept in China,” said Zhu. “It is our goal to expand the source market of Guangzhou, propelling the advancement and development of the cruising industry in the country.”

“This partnership on the promotion of fly-cruise will leverage on our extensive route network of Chinese and Asian destinations, as well as the strategic fleet deployments of Genting Cruise Lines to set an unprecedented quality of fly-cruise travel that allows seamless connections between the air and the sea, as well as driving the economic development of various port cities with massive market potential,” said Luo.

This strategic partnership is supported by the Tourism Administration of the Guangzhou Municipality.

The exclusive fly-cruise package presented by Genting Cruise Lines and China Southern Airlines will be officially launched on June 28, which will coincide with the monthly China Southern Member Day. Over a million China Southern Airlines members will enjoy exclusive onboard dining credits upon the purchase of fly-cruise packages comprising of direct flights from over 40 cities in China to Guangzhou, paired with the five-night cruises to Okinawa on Genting Dream.