The Covid-19 outbreak has affected overall confidence in travel. According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the number of tourist arrivals this year is predicted to fall around 25 to 30 percent.
Cruise lines have also suffered, with more than 10 cancelling itineraries in Asia, with others skipping Singapore as a port of call. But cruise will be back, according to Ms Annie Chang, Director, Cruise, Singapore Tourism Board.
“We have had many years of good growth, which underlines Singapore’s strong foundation as a cruise hub,” says Ms Chang. “From 2015 to 2019, the compound annual growth rate of cruise throughput stood at 15.6 per cent. Last year, our foreign cruise throughput grew 3.5 per cent despite supply constraints, with strong in-market demand from mid and long-haul markets.”
Additionally, Singapore’s diverse portfolio of cruise brands and markets puts it firmly on the road of recovery. Singapore receives a diversity of ships by cruise lines such as Celebrity Cruises, Costa Cruises, Dream Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and TUI Cruises. These cruise lines source globally from regional markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia, to mid and long-haul markets such as India, Australia, Germany, UK and USA.
So the growth potential for cruise in Asia remains strong, despite the coronavirus outbreak.
“Singapore remains well-poised to capture that growth, due to our geographical location and good infrastructure,” says Ms Chang. “Looking ahead, we have a strong, vibrant pipeline of cruise ships calling in Singapore too.”
This includes Genting Cruise Lines’ Global Dream in 2021, which will be the largest ship in the world in terms of passenger capacity. Global Dream will celebrate her inaugural arrival during her relocation cruise from Germany to Asia.