Singapore’s tourism board and a Walt Disney Co. subsidiary have agreed that Singapore will be the first port in Asia for one of their company’s cruise ships.
The Singapore Tourism Board and Disney Cruise Line have sealed their agreement to dock new ships exclusively in Singapore for at least five years. Disney cruises operate in several locations in the Caribbean, Europe and elsewhere, but never in Asia.
Thomas Mazloum, President of Disney Signature Experiences, said that the current focus will be more on the Southeast Asian market, and this will be the first in Asia, at a press conference Wednesday. Thomas himself is known as a cruise line superintendent.
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Singapore’s Transport Minister S. Iswaran said that it was important for Disney to choose Singapore as it shows a lot of significant potential in the Singapore area for cruise tourism and being the ‘Caribbean of the East’ as some have described it.
Iswaran also added that this confirms their position as a major cruise ship hub and makes Singapore a “major player in cruise tourism” due to its port infrastructure, strategic location and world-class air connectivity.
Disney Cruise Line said this 208,000-gross-ton cruise ship had an estimated capacity of carrying 6,000 passengers and 2,300 crew members. Along with people traveling to Singapore by air, owning a ship in Singapore will create the potential to bring in local and foreign cruise passengers over a five year period.
The Singapore cruise industry itself is already showing signs of a strong recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic which was detrimental due to travel restrictions.
Source: SCMP
