Mohit Rathod – Mumbai
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has opened its first two sales offices in India in Mumbai and Delhi. The company has also appointed country heads to lead business activities in India, which includes Manoj Singh, country head – India, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL); and Puneet Kumar, country head – India, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The two offices will represent operations of NCLH’s three brands – Regent, Oceania and NCL.
“We are investing heavily in our first India sales offices in Mumbai and Delhi, which are part of our expansion plan. We recognise the importance of the India market and we want it to become as big as China. Our business is exclusively served through travel trade. Asia Pacific is growing rapidly and we want to capitalise on that,” said Steve Odell, senior vice president and managing director – Asia Pacific, NCLH. “I like the India market, which is one of the top and fastest growing markets. For us, India and Japan are the top markets. Europe is very popular among Indians and we cater to them with our various Europe itineraries,” added Felix Chan, vice president, sales – Asia, NCL.
Over the next four years, NCLH will introduce five new ships across the three brands. Odell informed that the company will also invest US$ 525 million on fleet enhancements.
Speaking on the importance of the MICE segment, Odell commented, “MICE is the strongest for the NCL brand. It is slightly difficult for high-end brands, because the cruises are longer and the ticket prices are higher. But MICE is important to us, particularly in the India market. We are looking at how we can segment cruises to make them shorter in Europe. There are some cruises where we can make a seven-day itinerary into a four-day one, to get more of the incentive business.”
From March 2016 to April 2017, NCLH’s fleet will sail 45 itineraries across Asia, including destinations such as Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Hong Kong, Singapore, Xiamen, Shanghai, Tianjin (Beijing), Jeju, Incheon, Kyoto (Kobe), Nagasaki, Okinawa (Naha), Tokyo, Yangon and Colombo, etc.
