ONE of the largest land and sea travel providers in the Philippines is set to modernize its fleet throughout 2016, with hopes of catering more to the millennial market.
2Go Travel, the voyage arm of the 2Go Group, acquired MV Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (STC), to replace older vessel Saint Joan of Arc. The latter will be retiring as part of the constant modernization and refleeting of the travel company.
At 16,000 tons, STC is a 1,800-passenger capacity Ropax (roll-on/roll-off passenger) vessel operated by 175 officers, deck and engine hands, and hospitality staff. The vehicle was bought last December from Korea and arrived in January 2016. 2Go Travel Senior Vice President Stephen Tagud said he personally had to redo the interior design to keep it in line with the rest of the fleet.
“What we’re doing now is to run more efficient ships, more modern ships in our fleet. It’s starting,” Tagud told the BusinessMirror.
Their fleet is now composed of eight Ropax vehicles catering to domestic-travel destinations across the country. This summer 2Go has doubled their Palawan trips due to the influx of domestic tourism now serving the island province twice a week, reserving one day for locals needing to travel back home and the other to fully cater to tourists.
“As we’ve changed them since the integration of Negros Navigation and Aboitiz Transport Group, we’ve already done every dry docking, every hotel renovations, which means very modern amenities, more dining options. Some bigger ships have salons and spas, and it’s really all about improving passenger experience,” he said.
The SVP said they will not be opening ports this year, but they are still undergoing research as to where their passenger volumes are flowing. The group is expecting to cater to 4 million passengers this year, which according to him, will also depend on the dry docking of the ships.
“We have studies on passenger movement. We’re heavy in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, but not really in Eastern Visayas. There are Roro services there so we’re studying if it is viable to put a fast-craft service there. It’s more on the short-distance travel,” he said. Tagud was keen to admit that one of the selling points of 2Go is not the efficiency of travel time, but the entertainment they provide onboard their ships, as they cannot compete with other means of travel that boast of rapid trips.
“How we sell ourselves really, we can’t compete with the speed because our ships take longer so what we sell is experience, that’s why we have major facilities onboard. There are a lot of activities going on, different kinds of restaurants. We make sure that the trip is enjoyed, not endured. That’s our take on that,” he said.
Recently, they have partnered with the events group Oh Ship and provided an on-the-deck cruise ship party over the Labor Day weekend. It was on the second leg since the partnership brought forth the same set up for Sinulog of 2015.
This was mainly to cater to a younger market, packaging enjoyable trips, at the same time celebrating Filipino culture along the way. The group is bound to launch another event in the course of the Bacolod-based Masskara festival in October.
“The millennials are very energetic, very enthusiastic. They want something new, always something new, so a cruise ship party to a party destination excited them,” Tagud said.
Tagud added that the company will also be acquiring two more SuperCat vessels set for delivery next year, custom built for fast and comfortable ferrying across the archipelago. This will be in addition to the eight fast ferries they have, aside from the Ropax vessels and other eight cargo vessels.