Singapore’s cruise industry is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels between 2023 and 2024.
The announcement came as the region welcomed the arrival of Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas, which will homeport in Singapore.
The ship arrived in Malaysia’s Port Klang this morning. She will set sail on three- and four-night itineraries between Singapore and Malaysia for the duration of the season.
Spectrum of the Seas’ arrival will be followed closely by Resort World Cruises’ Genting Dream, which will also homeport in Singapore.
Singapore Tourism Board has confirmed that Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are the first Southeast Asian countries to resume port calls since cruising was halted in March 2020.
Mr Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “The resumption of port calls is an important milestone for Singapore and the region.
“It has been made possible by the strong partnership and collective commitment in ASEAN to grow the cruise industry.
“Cruising is a key tourism driver, and as ASEAN’s lead coordinator for cruise development, Singapore will continue to work with our counterparts to strengthen the region’s attractiveness as a cruising destination and source market.”
In 2019, Singapore welcomed over 400 cruise ships across 30 cruise brands, with year-on-year growth in passenger throughput of more than 1.8 million that year.
The tourism board also said that the country is now rebuilding its strong pipeline of cruise ship deployments, and working with cruise lines to expand their customer base.
This includes regional markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia, to mid and long-haul markets such as India, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ms Angie Stephen, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean International, said:
“The return of cruising to destinations is timely, as countries around the region re-open to welcome visitors, revitalise their tourism sectors, and embrace the new normal.
“Our cruises already have so much to offer with technologically-advanced ships and an ever-expanding range of first-at-sea onboard activities.
“We look forward to developing more exciting itineraries for our guests in this region,”
Mr Michael Goh, President of Resorts World Cruises, said: “We are committed to Singapore’s vision to be a premier cruise hub in Asia.
“Together with STB, we look forward to growing the cruise sector, including the fly-cruise segment and to making Singapore and Southeast Asia one of the largest year-round cruise destinations in the world.”
The fly-cruise segment is also a key growth area for Singapore that is expected to rebound strongly.
To prepare for the return of fly-cruise travellers, the country will continue to offer the Cruise Development Fund to encourage cruise lines to homeport in Singapore.
Cruise agents can also tap on this grant to develop and market cruise packages.
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