Page 11 - Asian Cruise Traveller Duty & Tax Free Retail

Industry Insider:
Asian Cruise Traveller Duty & Tax Free Retail
1.3 INTRODUCTION
This report provides an overview of the sea cruise Travel Retail channel, focusing on sales of Duty and Tax Free goods to Asian Passengers.
The report evaluates the current state of the market, looking at both the supply side - the range of services being offered by Duty and Tax Free retailers both onboard the vessels and in port stores - and the demand side - evaluating the current level of awareness, usage and purchasing, and associated drivers and barriers among key Asian nationalities travelling on recreational sea cruises.
In this report, the cruise Duty and Tax Free offer refers to Duty and Tax Free items offered for sale by cruise or port operator and/or its concession-holding partners prior to, during, or after a cruise traveller’s journey. Products sold in convenience stores, such as newspapers, magazines and toiletries are excluded from this definition.
1.3.1 ASIAN CRUISE TRAVELLERS: MARKET BACKGROUND
Asia’s cruise market has experienced significant growth over recent years, driven by significant passenger growth and substantial infrastructure investments at key regional locations. As a result, the Asian cruise sector is currently being hailed as one of Asia’s fastest growing Duty Free and Travel Retail markets, with leading industry experts claiming there to be major untapped potential to exploit.
Between 2012 and 2014, the Asian cruise sector has experienced unprecedented passenger growth, led by a rapidly expanding Chinese market. According to the Cruise Lines International Association’s (CLIA) State of the Asia Cruise Industry Report, despite having previously been expanding at an average rate of around 28% per annum, Chinese cruise passenger traffic increased at an average annual rate of 79% in the two years leading to 2014.
This led to total Chinese passenger traffic reaching some 697,000 passengers in 2014; an increase of 481,000 compared to 2012.
Asia’s cruise market has experienced significant growth over recent years due to increases in passenger traffic and investments in infrastructure
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