2. Speeches
Mr Teo Chee Hean at the Official Opening Ceremony of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore
22 October 2012
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Opening Address by Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs at the Official Opening Ceremony of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore on Monday, 22 October 2012, Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good evening. I am very happy to join you here at the official opening of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore. This is an important milestone in the development of Singapore’s cruise industry.
ASIA’S UNTAPPED CRUISE POTENTIAL
The cruise industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the travel and leisure sector. The global cruise industry is projected to grow at an annual compounded rate of 7.4 per cent, to reach 22.4 million cruise passengers by 2015.1
As Asia grows in affluence, there is great potential for growth in the Asian cruise industry. Today, only about 0.1 per cent of Asia’s population are cruise travellers. This is relatively low, compared to 3.3 per cent in North America. Growing from 0.1 per cent to 1 per cent market penetration in Asia would translate into 30 million cruise passengers, or three times the number of cruise passengers in North America today.2
The Singapore Tourism Board recently conducted a survey of potential cruise travellers in eight Asia-Pacific countries. Over eight in 10 of the respondents who had not previously experienced cruise travel indicated that they plan to do so.3
DEVELOPING SOUTHEAST ASIA’S CRUISE POTENTIAL
Southeast Asia has great potential for cruise tourism. Like the Mediterranean or the Baltic regions, the Southeast Asian archipelago has historically been united by the sea. We have seen great maritime empires like the Sri Vijaya kingdom, which flourished between the 7th and the 13th century, and the Malacca Sultanate in the 14th and 15th century. The Bugis and the Acehnese were well-known seafarers and traders from the Indonesian archipelago. Indian and Arab traders also brought Hinduism and Islam; and Zheng He’s great voyages took him from China to Malacca and beyond. The Portuguese and Spanish followed, from the 16th century, and subsequently the Dutch, the French and the British. All of them have left their mark in this region. South East Asia today also has modern, dynamic business and cultural hubs.
Cruising provides a unique way to experience the different peoples and cultures across the Southeast Asian countries, appreciating their diversity as well as the unifying thread that runs through them across the ages. A cruise traveller can enjoy the beautiful coastlines of South East Asia, the history of Malacca, the archaeological temple sites in Cambodia, the surprising diversity in the many interesting islands of Indonesia, together with the cosmopolitan and vibrant city of Singapore.
Singapore’s location in the centre of this exciting region makes it a natural hub to catalyse the growth of the cruise industry. I am happy to know that Singapore has been working closely with our ASEAN neighbours to realise Southeast Asia’s cruise potential as a region. Cruise tourism is a sector where we see potential for ASEAN to jointly market ourselves to the world. Together, we can create a winning product that will appeal to travellers and bring economic benefits to all our countries.
This year, we expect more than triple the number of maiden ship calls in Singapore, as compared to 2011. These maiden calls include the largest ships to ever homeport in Asia. For example, Royal Caribbean International’s Voyager of the Seas offered short cruises of three to five nights to Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket in May and June this year. We just wished the Voyager of the Seas bon voyage earlier this evening - she will call at Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City before heading to Australia. Costa Cruises’ Costa Victoria is also offering cruises to ports in Malaysia and Thailand.
Major cruise lines are also increasing their corporate and marketing presence in Southeast Asia. Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise company in the world with a combined fleet of over 100 ships, will be establishing a new corporate office in Singapore, as part of its efforts to grow its presence in Asia.
We also see an opportunity to develop the regional fly-cruise market, which has been popular in North America and the Mediterranean. SATS, Star Cruises and Changi Airport Group launched the FlyCruise service last year, so that cruise passengers who fly into Singapore can enjoy seamless air-sea transfers.
MARINA BAY CRUISE CENTRE SINGAPORE – A KEY FACILITY IN THE REGIONAL CRUISE LANDSCAPE
Today, we inaugurate a key facility in the regional cruise landscape. I would like to extend my congratulations to the management and staff of SATS-Creuers on the opening of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore.
The Marina Bay Cruise Centre will help Singapore better serve the growing global and Asian cruise industry. This new Cruise Centre can cater to the latest generation of large and contemporary cruise ships such as Royal Caribbean’s Oasis- and Voyager-class ships, Carnival Dream, Norwegian Epic, and the Diamond Princess, which also set sail earlier this evening.
The cruise terminal’s prime location near the Marina Bay precinct also offers cruise passengers easy access to iconic tourist attractions in Singapore, such as the Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.
I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of various Government agencies – the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, and the Maritime and Port Authority, for ensuring the smooth inauguration and functioning of the Cruise Centre; as well as the Singapore Tourism Board for promoting and developing the cruise industry in Singapore and the region.
I am confident that the Marina Bay Cruise Centre will draw more global cruise lines, offering more varied and exciting itineraries to different ports-of-call in our region, thereby growing the regional cruise industry for the benefit of the countries of South East Asia.
I wish all of you an enjoyable evening ahead. Thank you.
1 Source:
2 P. Wild (industry analyst) from Passenger Shipping Association, European Cruise Council, Abremar (South America Cruise Council), CLIA, ICCA and other sources
3 STB recently conducted a survey involving over 1,400 respondents across Greater China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and Australia, with annual household income amongst the top 20% of their country.