THE opening of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore next Monday is expected to spur cruise infrastructure development in South-east Asia, the slowness of which has been the bane of the sector’s growth.
The eye-catching terminal, in the shape of a ship, was previewed by Asian travel CEOs last Tuesday and will officially open with two mega ships in dock – the Diamond Princess and Voyager of the Seas.
“Both are about 3,600-pax ships and we’re expecting an 85 per cent load on both ships coming in and going out of Singapore,” said Melvin Vu, CEO of SATS-Creuers, the terminal’s operator.
This translates to more than 6,000 pax, the kind of numbers cruise proponents believe will open the eyes of regional neighbours to cruise dollars.
“The new cruise centre is going to signal a new era in cruise infrastructure development in Asia, particularly South-east Asia,” said Kevin Leong, general manager, Asia Cruise Association. “This is what we need, for infrastructure development has not been fast enough for cruise lines, which are considering deploying ships here.”
Leong said the economic crisis in the West was making cruise companies more serious about Asia, where source markets such as China, South-east Asia and India are huge and growing.
“But what we need to work on is building the network of ports of call, as a cruise hub cannot survive on its own,” he said.
Vu agreed that the new terminal would be a catalyst for cruise development not only in Singapore, but also the region. “With such investment sunk in Singapore, neighbouring countries must be thinking, there must be something in cruising.
“We need our neighbours. Singapore or Hong Kong can have the nicest terminals, but they need other ports of call to form meaningful itineraries,” said Vu.
Vu expects 75 ship calls with about 200,000 visitors passing through the terminal in the first year.
Leong said South-east Asia in fact, could do with more cruise hubs. “There could be a southern hub in Bali, a northern hub in Vietnam, an eastern hub in the Philippines. Distances are vast in South-east Asia, while cruise lines need to cater to Asian demand for shorter itineraries.”
Asked if it was realistic to expect emerging economies to invest heavily on cruise infrastructure as Singapore has, he said: “They don’t have to build an expensive cruise terminal. They can use existing container ports, so long as they provide cruise-friendly facilities such as shaded tents for passengers to disembark, immigration, areas for groundhandlers to pick up passengers for sightseeing – these are not difficult to provide.
“Non-hubs benefit too, from cruise passengers spending on dining, shopping and sightseeing.”
