Singapore cruise industry to drift to 2019-level recovery 

In 2019, over 400 cruise ships were called at Singapore ports.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said it expects the cruise sector to revive to its 2019 levels between 2023 and 2024 as some Southeast Asia countries, including Singapore, are resuming port calls.

In a statement, STB said the first cruise port call in over two years happened when Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas arrived at Malaysia’s Port Klang, followed by Resorts World Cruises’ Genting Dream, which will call at Indonesia’s Batam and Bintan on 2 July 2022.

READ MORE: MICE industry to see robust recovery: STB

“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,” said STB Chief Executive Keith Tan.

In 2019, over 400 cruise ships across 30 brands are called at Singapore ports, with year-on-year growth in passenger throughput of over 1.8 million.

Now that travel restrictions were eased, Singapore is rebuilding its cruise ship deployments and working with other cruise lines for expansion from Indonesia and Malaysia to India, Australia, Germany, the UK, and the US.

Apart from the cruise revival, STB will continue to offer Cruise Development Fund to encourage cruise lines to homeport in Singapore. This fund backs cruise industry players in activities that will build strong consumer demand for cruises from Singapore.