Cognizant of the trend of consumers going online to book their flights and hotels, second generation travel agency owner Dr Frederic Yip of Goldjoy Travel in Hong Kong decided to do a little digging into the online cruise sector a couple of years ago.
Yip, who had eight years earlier joined the company founded by his father, stated during a Cruise World Asia discussion this week: “We’ve sold cruises for almost 25 years, and I was curious to learn more about the tech aspect of things, as I have an engineering background. I began to research the cruise industry. I found that the way in which cruises were distributed and sold in Asia was far behind how hotels and flights were sold. This is not a bad thing.”
At the time, there was nothing quite like Expedia Cruises for our region, and most likely even today, most travel agents still market and sell cruises via offline channels and travel shows. CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association), reports stated that 80% of all cruise bookings worldwide were conducted offline when I began.
As part of Goldjoy, Yip saw an opportunity and launched an online cruise booking OTA. “We found immediate success. It may have been because it was COVID at the time and the closest experience to a holiday was to hop on a cruise that went nowhere, operated by Royal Caribbean or Dream Cruises.
“We were also getting ready for the re-opening of the border. People were booking cruises, because cruise lines were offering crazy promotions and offers.”
Yip stated that, post-pandemic the online booking trend is still there and today 90% of Goldjoy’s cruises are booked online. “Even the expensive cruises.”
Yip recognized the popularity of its technologies and decided to expand outside Hong Kong. They established Cruqo in Singapore as a cruise technology company that could provide their OTA platform through partnerships to the existing players within each market.
How to bulletproof technology in your agency
Chan Chee-Chong, CEO and Co-Founder of GlobalTix whose tours and activity technology company is moving “in a very small way” into cruises, said that the same shift is being seen online in his sector due to the entry of the giant OTAs.
Mega OTAs, as more and more bookings take place on apps, are keen to offer a single-stop shop for their customers so that they don’t have to download a second app to their phone. Hence the three key verticals – flights, hotels and tours and activities – are becoming the norm. With B2B wholesalers such as bed banks and activities aggregators, it is no longer difficult to offer options to your customers”, he said.
His advice to more than 300 travel agents who gathered at the event, organized Travel Weekly Asia, was: If you’re a small business owner, start small.
He gave the example of Museum of Ice Cream, which first adopted technology to be able drive online sales. “They then found tools that helped them do marketing, with the ability of doing conversions, like working with KOLs and trackable links. Then, they adopted distribution technologies to increase their sales through OTAs or offline agents.
Blue Mansion, in Penang, is another example. Once it accepted digital wallets for its online sales, the growth was almost immediate.
“A big company like Taman safari, which used a lot manual work to manage its commissions, adopted the newest technologies to help with this.” They also provided unique links to hotel concierges, which increased their ability of converting more sales.
Newer and bigger ships will encourage first-timers and multigenerational travel
The shift from offline to online coincides with the generational shift of cruise customers. Yip stated that before Covid, the average age of Hong Kong cruise passengers had been 54. It is now 38.
“It is very interesting to see what is happening in the region right now. In Asia, bigger and newer ships are being introduced. Disney Adventure will attract a lot first-time cruisers. When people ask about cruise recommendations, the first thing I ask is, have you cruised before?
“Nine out 10 haven’t.”
The two cruise ships were modern, new and designed to accommodate families and multi-generational guests. Everyone could have fun, no matter what age group. Parents, grandparents and kids brought along their friends. Of course, connectivity. Starlink is a product of SpaceX. Internet is now cheaper and faster.
“I wouldn’t cruise if I was disconnected.”
New marketing strategies are needed to reach younger travelers. A new study, “E-commerce influencers marketing in Southeast Asia,” shows in Singapore that 41% consumers value recommendations from influencers, and Live commerce, with 77% Singaporean consumers using one platform or more, has gained traction.
Chan said, “These young consumers are all about the experience. Cruises must create unique, Instagrammable experiences. Yoga on the deck or wave surfing are two examples. All these things must be captured as shortform content. Working with KOLs, or micro-influencers, is a necessity.”
Yip said that he agrees with the importance of working with influencers, but that he prefers to work with many of them in order to “not become too dependent on just one or two.”
How traditional travel agents can compete in an age of AI
He said the traditional travel agency has an advantage over OTAs in creating experiences and adding more value than just information, which AI can easily provide. Yip interviewed Conrad Combrink, a Silversea Cruises representative who has been to Antarctica 82 different times.
“Conrad is an encyclopedia of expeditions, a storyteller and a fascinating man. You feel jealous after listening to him describe his polar adventures and want to experience them yourself. What is most fascinating is that every single one of those 82 experiences was unique. Whales, penguins, sea lions, birds, sea conditions, weather – that’s what is cool about expeditions; it’s different every time. His scouting trips to find new cruise itineraries is also pretty cool. There’s lots of work done behind the scenes.”
His advice: “Promote destinations and niche products that are exclusive.” Limited, hard-to-get. Antarctica has been visited by less than 0.01% humans.
“Travelers seeking experiences are not only interested in a stay but also a journey. They want to know the details. Travel advisors who can relate a story about how they watched lions being chased by a group hyenas on a hot-air balloon in Africa are able to share their experiences. You suddenly become an interesting person.”
Chan believes it is important to make an emotional connection with clients. “You have to create opportunities for me tell a story. Either get me very drunk, or make me perform something I can’t do elsewhere. “A moment that will remain in your memory forever.”
Both agree that AI is going to further widen the gap between the haves in travel and the have-nots. “Knowing AI, like the internet, is an unfair advantage,” said Yip. That’s why travel agencies have to increase their creativity to compete.
When asked about the most immediate practical application of AI in his company, he responded, “I am aware that the team uses the ChatGPT/Copilot software to help them with translations and itinerary suggestions. They also use it for destination highlights. The finance team uses AI capabilities within BI software for revenue management and report purposes.
Chan said “Translation, and content generation.”
Chan said the biggest change is ironically the desire to be like humans, with their imperfections and real voices.
Yip said: “Autonomous vehicles or robotaxis”.
“I believe we will see fewer human drivers holding up signs with someone’s names on it and waiting an hour or longer for a guest to arrive at a cruise or airport arrivals hall because the flight has been delayed.”
Arriving travelers will walk to a designated area, and the driverless car can drive them to their hotel or office.
