Kelvin Tan wins the 2014 Rama Rebbapragada Award for outstanding contribution to the cruises industry in Asia

HONG KONG/LONDON - Zinan Liu, chairman, CLIA North Asia, and vice president, China and North Asia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited presented the 2014 Rama Rebbapragada Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Cruise Industry in Asia during the Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific Welcome Reception in Hong Kong at the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

Dr Liu presented the award to Kelvin Tan, commercial director, Asia Pacific for Celebrity Cruises, in recognition of his long, outstanding engagement within the cruise industry in Asia. Tan maintains a passionate belief in the potential of the Asian source markets and has enthusiastically promoted new ports and itineraries within the region, helping in no small part to establish Asia as an exciting new market within the industry. Having been originally hired by Rama, Kelvin Tan worked with him for thirteen years and established a long friendship with him.

Dr Liu spoke at the Award Ceremony, saying it was "a great honor and a privilege to present the award to someone who leads a team for all commercial development including strategic planning, sales, marketing, harbour relations, deployment and port development. Tan is also part of a pioneering team that successfully drove Royal Caribbean business into Asia. Among his many milestones he developed the cruise business in Asia and launched the company’s Singapore and Hong Kong season in 2007. He was a close friend and colleague of Rama, and like Rama, he has passion and energy and made a significant contribution to Asia’s position in the cruise business."

Upon receipt of the award, Kelvin Tan said "I am very honoured and humbled to receive the award, not just for myself but for the Asia cruise industry as a whole. Rama was my boss and my mentor. We shared a lot together, especially in the early phases when we were trying to bring our ships into Asia. Rama was definitely the visionary and I consider myself as his strategist. Over the span of almost 20 years I have seen how the Asia cruise industry has grown and I am very happy that it is now at a stage when it is about to explode in terms of growth and I hope I have played a small part in contributing in what it is now, and over the past 15 years."

sourced:traveldailynews.asia