HONG KONG and LONDON, Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2014 Rama Rebbapragada Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Cruise Industry in Asia was presented last night during the Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific Welcome Reception in Hong Kong at the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

Dr Zinan Liu, Chairman, CLIA North Asia, and Vice President, China and North Asia, Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited presented the award to Kelvin Tan, Commercial Director, Asia Pacific for Celebrity Cruises, in recognition of his long and 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 to establish Asia as an exciting new market within the industry. Tan was originally hired by Rama, and worked with him for thirteen years, establishing a long friendship.

At the Award Ceremony, Dr Liu said 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, harbor relations, deployment and port development. He 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."

"I am very honored and humbled to receive the award, not just for myself but for the Asia cruise industry as a whole," said Tan upon receiving the award. "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," Tan continued to say, "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."

Editor – Nina Marston at Seatrade, Tel +44 1206 545121 or email nmarston@seatrade-global.com

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NOTE TO THE EDITOR: Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific is organized by UBM in partnership with Seatrade.

About UBM
UBM connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets. Through premier brands such as Routes, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show and many others, UBM exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)
Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organizer and the biggest commercial organizer in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 30 offices and over 1,200 staff in 25 major cities. We operate in 19 market sectors with 160 exhibitions, 75 conferences, 28 trade publications, 18 vertical portals and virtual event services for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

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SOURCE Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific