The Genting Dream luxury cruise ship will make Singapore its home port from Dec 3, in a year-long deployment.
This was announced on Thursday (Jan 19) by Genting Hong Kong's premium cruise line brand Dream Cruises. The 18-deck, 151,300-tonne luxury liner can accommodate 3,400 guests. It currently calls the ports of Guangzhou and Hong Kong home.
With the move to Singapore, it is expected to attract about 200,000 foreign cruise passengers and generate about S$80 million in tourism receipts, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
STB chief Lionel Yeo said the Asian cruise market has become increasingly vibrant, with the development of dedicated cruise terminals across Southeast Asia opening destinations such as Port Klang and Langkawi in Malaysia, as well as Thailand’s Laem Chabang.
He added that Singapore, too, has seen strong sales growth, with double digit figures recorded at the last travel fair organised by the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS).
“We attract cruise visitors from many places, from countries in close proximity like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines to longer-haul markets like Australia, China and India,” said Mr Yeo. “In 2015, more than half of our international visitors to Singapore were from the middle and affluent classes, offering Genting Dream a ready market that they can tap on immediately.”
Dream Cruises said the move to Singapore and other destinations in Southeast Asia is “in complete isolation” to the Chinese market. The brand has a second cruise ship being constructed named World Dream.
Source : Channel News Asia
