By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo / Special to the BusinessMirror
THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will be developing new cruise products to boost intra-Asean travel and encourage more international tourists to visit the region.
In a news briefing on Friday, AK Zulkairi Pg Abdul Razak of the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam said “the Singapore Tourism Board is working with cruise lines to develop new cruise products in Asean.” He added that Asean recorded a 13-percent increase in port calls in Southeast Asia from 2013 to 2015.
Razak and other tourism officials from the region spoke about projects to promote the “Asean for Asean” tourism campaign. Citing the United Nations World Tourism Organization, he said a large chunk of international
travels in 2015 “took place in their own regions.” Intra-Asean arrivals, he added, are projected to increase by 4.9 million every year until 2030, due to the “no-visa requirement” for leisure travelers.
This developed as the Philippines’s Department of Tourism (DOT) said there were 70,000 cruise passengers who arrived in 2015, posting a 16-percent rise, from 60,183 passengers in 2014. Last year’s cruise passengers were on ships which made 52 port calls, up from 44 port calls in 2014.
Tourism Assistant Secretary Arturo P. Boncato Jr. told in a separate news briefing, “with the completion of the Philippine cruise strategy, it is envisioned that the cruise market will continue to deliver more visitors to the country, as the strategy will provide support not only in the infrastructure requirement of this segment, but also provide policies that will continue to develop the cruising industry.”
The DOT is working with the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to identify key ports in the country to develop these into viable deep harbors to accommodate mega-cruise ships. These ports are Manila, Puerto Princesa, Subic, Boracay and Davao. Discussions between the DOT and the PPA are ongoing, as such, it is not yet known how much the development budget would cost.
For his part, Tourism Undersecretary for Market Development Benito Bengzon Jr. said: “We have always maintained that the Philippines has very strong potential in cruise tourism, considering we are an archipelago. We can be a cruise destination and not only a port of call as what we are now seeing.” A turnaround cruise ship carrying 2,000 passengers, he noted, will be able to generate tourism receipts of some $1.2 million.
“What we want is for cruise passengers from long-haul destinations to fly into Manila, board the ship here, sail in Southeast Asian waters and fly out in another destinations if it’s an open jaw itinerary,” he added.
Meanwhile, Michelle Chan, Asean cruise coordinator representative, said new tourism products will be
developed and promoted under the “one cruise initiative.”
She added that the cruise tourism segment in the region will be successful as tourists can visit “25,000 islands in 10 countries. There are a multitude of options available for tourists, as well as our constant tropical climate [makes it appealing for travelers].”
She also said cruise passengers can visit 27 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization world heritage sites “in one day.” Tourism officials and executives of national tourism organizations are in Manila to attend the five-day Asean Tourism Forum, which began on January 18.
This year there will be joint undertakings by Asean member-nations to boost its cruise tourism segment, such as participation in the Seatrade Cruise Global 2016 in Miami in March; launching of the Asean cruise map; engaging more regional travel agents; and more publicity efforts to promote Southeast Asia as a cruising region of choice. The Asean tourism ministers were expected to unveil the details of the Asean Tourism Strategic Plan for 2016 to 2022 on Thursday afternoon.