Speech by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports and 2nd Minister for Trade and Industry, on the Occasion of the first Call of the Cruise Ship “Costa Allegra”, 23 May 2006, 11 am at the Singapore Cruise Centre

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

I am pleased to be here today to welcome the Costa Allegra on her first call to Singapore.

I am told that the cruise industry had its beginnings as early as the 1830s when the “Peninsular Steam Navigation Company” and the “British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company” were founded. Among the world’s first cruise passengers were those who travelled in ships delivering mail between Liverpool and Boston fortnightly.

Today, cruise is a markedly different business. Increasingly, passengers now cruise not for utilitarian purposes, but for leisure. Cruise ships have also grown in size. The largest ships today can carry more than 3,500 passengers. We will continue to see exciting growth in this industry with the proliferation of exotic cruise destinations, and more compelling packages.

Asia - A Regional Cruise Destination

We all know about the traditional cruise destinations such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean. I believe that Asia, especially maritime South East Asia with its colorful and diverse cultures, always sunny climate, beautiful seas and great beaches will be the next big thing in the international cruise industry.

Asia currently accounts for about 5% of the world cruising market. It offers great potential for growth – not only in providing new destinations for Western cruise passengers, but also by being a new source of cruise passengers. In fact, cruise passengers in the Asia Pacific region are projected to grow by more than 40% from 1.07 million in 2005 to 1.5 million by 2010 [1].

Many Asian cruise destinations are investing heavily in physical cruise infrastructure. However, we need to work together to develop and market the whole region as a compelling destination so that major cruise lines will anchor and homeport their ships here. Since a cruise ship will typically call on at least 4 to 5 ports, there is much synergy to be reaped by collaborating together to grow and develop the region collectively. To this end, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and other National Tourism Organizations in Asia have begun to produce joint marketing materials and are establishing a stronger presence at international trade events such as the Sea trade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami.

Fly-Cruise Development Fund

Our vision is for Singapore to be the cruise hub of Asia. One of STB’s initiatives to grow and cultivate the local cruise industry is the “fly-cruise” concept. With cruise becoming a purpose-of-visit driver in its own right, we are looking at how cruise and air travel can be packaged together. This will allow the cruise industry to also benefit from Singapore’s strong air connectivity. Indeed, Changi Airport is well-connected to more than 180 cities in over 50 countries. When Terminal 3 begins operations in 2008, Changi Airport will have an annual handling capacity of more than 64 million passengers a year.

Hence, I am pleased to announce that STB, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC) have set up a S$10-million Singapore Fly-Cruise Development Fund, or FCDF in short. This is a significant step towards realizing STB’s targets of doubling visitor arrivals to 17 million and tripling tourism receipts to S$30 billion by 2015. I hope that with the establishment of the FCDF, cruise companies will be encouraged to anchor strategic deployments in Singapore and expand their presence in Asia.

The FCDF, which will be administered by STB over the next three years, will encourage major international cruise companies to partner Singapore in joint initiatives to develop and market “fly-cruise products”. For instance, the FCDF can be used to promote these products to in-market travel agents or to fund promotions and publicity.

Costa Cruises - First Partner Under FCDF

It gives me great pleasure today to announce that Singapore’s first partner under the FCDF is Costa Cruises. Costa Cruises is the owner of the Costa Allegra, and is one of the cruise brands under Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise company.

Under the partnership, Costa Cruises’ local preferred sales agents and STB’s regional offices in eight Asian cities will conduct a series of marketing seminars for travel agencies and other selected industry partners to promote fly-cruise options originating from or ending in Singapore. This partnership could also generate greater awareness among Asians travellers that cruise is an attractive holiday option.

Furthermore, we also look forward to December this year when Costa Cruises will homeport its cruise ship, “Costa Marina”, in Singapore. Costa Marina will offer five Asian cruises out of Singapore with itineraries ranging between 11 to 15 days. These cruises will call on ports in Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Conclusion

With the establishment of the FCDF to promote “fly-cruise” options through Singapore, I hope the global cruise community will be encouraged to expand their presence here and partner us in our vision to develop Singapore into the preferred cruise hub in Asia.

Thank you.