Long before cruising caught mainstream attention in Southeast Asia, Lai Khe Han was already hooked. Introduced to the industry at a young age by his father – the founder of Malaysia-based Vacation Hub Travel & Tours, established in 1983 – Khe Han grew up sailing on the likes of SuperStar Libra and Virgo throughout the 2000s.
What began as childhood awe soon evolved into a lifelong calling. In 2010, Khe Han formally joined the family business. Just two years later, driven by a desire to branch out and bring more cruise options to Malaysian travellers, he launched his own venture: TLC Travel & Tours.
The call of the waves
“Cruising has always been close to my heart,” says Khe Han, now a director at the Johor-based TLC Travel. “Back then, I would actively research the biggest and newest ships like Norwegian Epic or Mariner of the Seas, just so I could understand and sell them better.”
TLC Travel positions itself as a cruise specialist through personalised service, deep industry knowledge, long-standing agent relationships, and curated cruise options for Malaysian travellers. Photo Credit: TLC Travel
Today, both TLC Travel and Vacation Hub focus on a wide array of travel offerings, including wholesale cruise reservations and retail bookings, built on a foundation of long-standing relationships and a deep commitment to service. While many OTAs promise convenience, Lai believes cruise selling remains a high-touch business where knowledge, trust, and human connection are still the ultimate differentiators in an increasingly digital industry.
“It’s still a very human-centric business. Many of our sub-agent partners have been with us for over a decade. Trust is a big reason why we’ve been successful in selling cruises,” he explains.
The company’s consistency hasn’t gone unnoticed – TLC continues to receive industry accolades, and Khe Han himself is a familiar face at events like CruiseWorld, where he shares insights to help other agents grow their cruise portfolios.
Merging tech with personal touch
As he enters his second decade in the cruise business, Khe Han is part of a new wave of travel advisors redefining what it means to be successful in today’s travel landscape: part cruise expert, part tech innovator, and part trusted partner.
He is embracing digital innovation to scale smarter. TLC Travel was one of the early adopters of AI tools in Malaysia’s cruise space – he even jokes that his father was the one pushing him to embrace it faster.
Today, the company uses AI-powered tools to automate bookings, allowing the team to handle higher volumes and maintain service levels despite industry-wide talent shortages. “Getting and retaining good people is still a challenge. So, we invest in technology to fill the gaps and make our workflows more efficient.
“Most tech solutions are designed from an engineering perspective, not a travel perspective,” says Khe Han. “What people need is something intuitive, something that understands how they actually plan and travel.”
He also experiments with new marketing channels, such as Xiaohongshu, to engage younger and tech-savvy travellers looking for cruise holidays beyond traditional routes.
Reading the market, dreaming bigger
In late 2023, Khe Han fulfilled his lifelong cruise dream by visiting Royal Caribbean’s private island, CocoCay, ticking it off his personal bucket list. Photo Credit: TLC Travel
As the Malaysian cruise market matures, Lai is seeing growing demand for international sailings, particularly to Japan, China, and Korea. Travellers today, he says, are better informed, more adventurous, and open to different embarkation points.
A lifelong cruise fan himself, Lai recently ticked off one of his personal bucket list experiences: visiting Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas, CocoCay, in late 2023.
What’s next for this passionate cruise advocate? If his journey so far is any indication, Lai’s next chapter is bound to be as ambitious – and inspiring – as the ones that came before.
Editor’s note: This article is part of Travel Weekly Asia’s July–September 2025 cover story, Next Gen, New Game. Click here to read the full issue.