GEORGE TOWN – The cruise liner business can contribute up to RM300,000 to Penang’s economy for each day-long or overnight stopover trip a cruise ship makes in the state.
Penang Port Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan said that the industry has a huge spillover effect on the state’s tourism scene. Hence, the port operator continues to promote and market this sector of the leisure industry.
The cruise liner business is a multi-million enterprise that is worth supporting, he said in an interview.
Sasedharan said that money is generated when mammoth cruise liners dock to replenish their supplies and take in new passengers or crew members.
Then, when passengers disembark for the day or buy overnight packages – which Penang offers – hotel operators, eateries, trishaw operators and souvenir peddlers, as well as other stakeholders in tourism, receive the benefits.
Cruises enhance the local supply chain, and many distributors can earn revenue from supplying the ships plying regional routes.
“We hope that all cruise operators will come over to Penang. However, it is a competitive field with many other regional locations competing, but Penang has carved up a reputation for itself. We hope support can be given by all authorities,” Sasedharan said.
Penang Port in George Town is the only one in the region where ships dock right in the city, as well as being the only port located within a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Genting Dream to set sail on July 1
In a related development, new cruise liner operator Resorts World Cruises announced that its flagship, named Genting Dream, will begin sailing from Singapore to international destinations from July 1.
The company is the new venture of the Genting Group conglomerate after it was forced to shut down its Star Cruises Line due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Genting Dream’s stopovers include Kuala Lumpur, Melaka (via Port Dickson) and Penang, as well as the Bintan and Batam islands in Indonesia.
“We will continue to include more popular destinations to Phuket and Krabi in Thailand and North Bali in Indonesia from October 2022 onwards to provide our vacationers with more destination options,” said its president Michael Goh in a statement.
The three-night Kuala Lumpur and Melaka (via Port Dickson) to Penang cruise will depart from July 3 onwards and subsequently the two-night Kuala Lumpur and Melaka (via Port Dickson) cruise will depart every Wednesday.
The company added that the first destination cruise will be on July 1 with the two-night Bintan and Batam Islands Weekend Getaway Cruise departing on Fridays.
Such destinations are aimed at tapping into the growing domestic market, as more Malaysians continue to opt for cruise holidays as part of their dream vacations.
Meanwhile, veteran tour operator Eric R. Sinnaya urged Genting Dream to make more port calls and develop packages.
“We want tourism growth to be evenly spread throughout the country rather than a few locations only,” he said.
“And we need to locate new markets to diversify our tourism resources. This includes tapping the inbound markets from Asia.” – The Vibes, June 11, 2022
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