Two prominent river cruise companies in Southeast Asia are warming up
their engines as they restart operations this September to bring guests
through the region's waterways after two years of non-operation.
UK-registered Pandaw Cruises and Ho Chi Minh-based Viet Princess
Cruiser Corp have picked 9 September 2022 and 22 September 2022,
respectively, to kick off their cruise season following the Covid-19
pandemic.
Pandaw Cruises, which operates 17 vessels and one new ship RV Song
Hong (launching 2023), will start with its 10-night Halong Bay and Red
River expedition. Sailings for Cambodia, lower Vietnam, Laos and India
are scheduled for October.
According
to James Talbot, sales and reservations manager of Pandaw Cruises,
tourism demand for Southeast Asia in general has been much lower this
year due to the closed borders in the first half of 2022.
Pandaw Cruises will start its 10-night Halong Bay and Red River expedition.
The key challenge now, he noted, is showing international travellers
that Asia is open for business and safe for travel in 2022.
“The disruption to flight schedules has also hindered tourists'
return but with this situation now improving and with confidence
growing, we are seeing the demand return quickly,” Talbot said.
“We are expecting demand to pick up drastically for 2023/24."
Similarly, for Viet Princess, hospitality director Eric Christophe
related that following no activity for 30 months, three of their cruise
ships and 95% of their crew members are prepared to sail for the new
season.
Operating between Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and Siem Reap in
Cambodia, its three small-yet-luxurious ships are fitted with 14
state-of-the-art suites and has a carrying capacity of 28 to 32 persons
including crew members.
During the pandemic, Viet Princess sustained business with the 300-seater restaurant on luxury cruise Saigon Princess.
In recent weeks, Viet Princess has recorded growing reservations and
if the momentum keeps up, Christophe expects seats to be sold out for
2022.
“Our clients are mostly from English-speaking countries such as
the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, as well as South
Africa and France,” he shared.
Before the pandemic, Viet Princess had only worked with charter
companies, with the ships fully booked all-year round. During the
pandemic, Viet Princess sustained business with the 300-seater
restaurant on luxury cruise Saigon Princess, which was fully booked.
“However, now we have to be open to FITs as some of those charter
companies did not survive the pandemic,” Christophe said, adding that
promotions have been ongoing since last year through mails, Visio
conference and fairs.
“The result is satisfying so far, as we have signed on a big contract with New Zealand platform,” he said.