Singapore-based cruise ships started making port calls to neighboring countries in July. This is happening for the first time that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the world and stopped international cruises for a time.
The first ports of call were Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas and Resorts. World Cruises’ Genting Dream which docked at Port Klang in Malaysia and Batam and Bintan islands in Indonesia respectively. Both cruise ships have been homeported to Singapore.
Before the pandemic, Singapore’s cruise industry, and in particular the fly-cruise segment, was witnessing explosive growth. In 2018, Singapore cruise companies were reporting 25 percent annual growth from Indian tourists. In 2017, nearly 127,000 Indians boarded one of the many luxury cruise lines that berthed in Singapore and took passengers on a pampering trip to various Southeast Asian destinations like Penang, Phuket and beyond. Many of them are on a fly-cruise itinerary.
Various cruise lines, including Princess Cruises, Genting and Dream Cruises (the predecessor brands of Resorts World Cruises), Royal Caribbean and Costa, took advantage of Singapore’s position as a regional hub to establish their Southeast Asian base. Back in 2019, over 19 million people visited Singapore. The cruise industry had over 1.82 million passengers in 2019 and made 414 port calls. Over 400 cruise ships from 30 cruise brands were called to Singapore in 2019.
So far this year, Singapore has received 959,000 foreign visitors, of which nearly half or 418,000 arrived in May, the latest month for which data from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) was available.
Indians make up the second largest nationality in terms of tourist arrivals in Singapore with 154,700 arrivals since the beginning of this year. Indonesians make up the largest group with 171,400 and Malaysians are third with 88,800 passengers visiting the island. Conspicuously missing from this data are the Chinese who form the largest group of visitors because their country is one of the few that has kept its borders closed. More than 3.63 million Chinese tourists arrived in Singapore in the last full year of travel before COVID-19 brought the travel industry to its knees.
STB said Singapore plans to rebuild its robust pipeline of cruise ships deployment by leveraging its strategic location, world-class air connectivity and excellent port infrastructure. It is also working with cruise lines to expand its customer base. Apart from neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia, they are eyeing cruise passengers from countries like India, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom and United States of America.
With Singapore reopening to all vaccinated visitors, the fly-cruise segment is expected to return strongly and is an area of focus for STBs that it has identified as a key growth area. Before Covid-19, 70 percent of Singapore cruise passengers were international visitors traveling to Singapore to take a cruise to explore Southeast Asia and other regional countries. Strong demand from the fly-cruise segment will add to the appeal of Singapore as a homeport for cruise lines.
To prepare for the return of fly-cruise passengers, STB will continue to offer cruise development funds to encourage cruise lines to head to the homeport in Singapore. Cruise agents can also use this grant to develop and market cruise packages. Through such partnerships, STB helps cruise agents launch effective marketing campaigns to promote sailings from Singapore and showcase engaging cruise and land experiences, in turn attracting more passengers and cruises. Converts to Singapore.
During the Covid-19 border closure, Singapore residents who were stranded on their tiny island took cruises as a way to leave home and flee for leisure. Ever since Singapore resumed cruising in November 2020, more than half a million passengers have sailed on about 370 ‘Cruise to Noir’ sailings. Many of them are first-timers. As more ships offer different routes to exit Southeast Asia, cruisegoers for the first time are expected to support a strong rebound for the industry.
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are the first Southeast Asian countries to resume port calls since cruising was halted in March 2020. With positive discussions for resumption of similar calls in more ports and alignment of health protocols across the region, STB expects the cruise industry in Singapore to return to pre-pandemic levels between 2023 and 2024.
Keith Tan, Chief Executive of STB, said, “The restoration of Port Call is an important milestone for Singapore and the region.” “This has been made possible by strong partnerships and collective commitment in ASEAN to develop the cruise industry. Cruising is a key tourism driver, and as ASEAN’s principal coordinator for cruise development, Singapore is a cruising destination and source market. We will continue to work with our counterparts to strengthen the attractiveness of the region.
“The return of cruises to destinations is timely, as countries around the region reopen to welcome visitors, revitalize their tourism sectors and embrace the new normal. Our cruises have much to offer with our already technologically advanced ships and a wide range of first-time maritime activities on board. We look forward to developing more exciting itineraries for our guests in the region,” said Ms Angie Stephen, Vice President and Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Royal Caribbean International.
“We are committed to Singapore’s vision of becoming a major cruise hub in Asia. With STB, we expect the cruise sector to grow, including the fly-cruise segment; and to make Singapore and Southeast Asia the world’s largest cruise ship year-round. To make it one of the big cruise destinations,” said Mr. Michael Goh, President, Resorts World Cruises.
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