Looking to serve Japan’s IR patrons?
The first casino cruise from Genting Hong Kong Ltd., a ship called the Genting Dream, recently traveled from its home ports of Hong Kong and Nansha in Guangzhou to Okinawa, Japan, arriving on April 4 and then journeying on to Miyakojima, according a press release from Dream Cruises.
“Okinawa, Japan has always been one of the most scenic destinations,” said Thatcher Brown, president of Dream Cruises, in a statement.
Genting Hong Kong launched the cruise line, “conceived in and built for Asia,” in November 2015 and made its maiden voyage a year later. The second ship of the fleet, the World Dream, will start operations in November 2017.
Genting Hong Kong has developed a three-brand cruise portfolio to serve different market demographics, according to GGRAsia: Crystal Cruises for VIPs; Dream Cruises for the so-called “premium” segment; and Star Cruises for what has termed the “contemporary” segment.
The company, which swung to a US$502.3 million loss in 2016 compared to a US$2.11 billion profit the year before, will now operate regular five-night cruises to Okinawa in Japan just as that country plans to open up its own legal gaming industry. Osaka, Tokyo and Okinawa have all been mentioned by investment analysts as possible locations for Japanese casino resorts.
