With the official opening of the High Speed Rail (Hong Kong section), Hong Kong is now connected to the world’s largest high-speed railway network, opening doors to new opportunities for Genting Cruise Lines.
As the only cruise company with year-round homeport deployment from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong, Dream Cruises has spearheaded the first ever rail cruise campaign, hosting road shows in key high speed rail markets.
Throughout the month of November, over 1,000 inbound guests came to Hong Kong by High Speed Rail for a two-night weekend cruise holiday aboard World Dream.
Thatcher Brown, President of Dream Cruises said: “We are very excited about the new rail-cruise opportunities that the High Speed Rail (Hong Kong section) brings to the city, especially in the advancement in connectivity between inland cities of China which drives the development of cruise industry in Hong Kong. Rail-cruise guests from Mainland can now come to Hong Kong for a short weekend getaway of cruise vacation and freestyle travel in Hong Kong, with an unprecedented level of convenience and comfort. In partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Dream Cruises is committed to drive the development of inbound source markets with continuous rail-cruise promotions, attracting Mainland travellers to enjoy the benefits of cruise travel in Hong Kong.”
Anthony Lau, Executive Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) said: “The commencement of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Rail (HSR) provides Mainland visitors with another convenient mode of transportation for travelling to Hong Kong, and benefits the city by attracting more overnight visitors from Central China and South China. The HKTB is delighted to join forces with Dream Cruises to launch the “HSR + Cruise” product which not only helps attract more visitors to Hong Kong, but also encourage them to start their cruise journey here. The HKTB will continue to work with the travel trade to introduce more innovative and unique tourism products to entice more overnight visitors.”
Dream Cruises promoted the rail-cruise campaign in partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, as the first high speed rail fare rebate program was launched in August.
The first 1,000 rail-cruise guests who embarked World Dream in Hong Kong were entitled to an instant high speed rail fare rebate of up to RMB$400 per cabin.
The campaign was well received as the rebate quota was full in two weeks, according to a press release.
Most of the rail-cruise guests were from cities in mainland China that were connected to Hong Kong via High Speed Rail without interchange, including Changsha, Guiyang, Wuhan, Nanning, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
To further complement the journey of rail-cruise guests, Dream Cruises will launch Hong Kong’s first in-town check-in counter for cruise guests in West Kowloon station, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2019.
