These principles, outlined in the joint ASEAN Declaration on Cruise Tourism led by Singapore, the ASEAN lead coordinator for cruise development, were officially endorsed at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Friday.
ASEAN members will aim to apply fair business practices to visitors, guests, employees, vendors, contractors, agents, business partners, the local society and the global community. This includes transparency in business transactions and fees charged and received.
Another commitment is to providing greater clarity and transparency to port users in respect to fees, berthing guidelines and immigration procedures, making these available in a prompt, transparent and readily accessible manner.
The Declaration also calls for the consistent application of respective national laws, regulations and policies across all points of entry into their territory, including the consistent application of port charges and immigration procedures at a national level.
The parties agreed to support capacity-building and share best practices, including partnering with the cruise industry to raise travel trade capabilities and the understanding of port infrastructure and technical requirements.
A further key goal in accelerating cruise tourism development involves focusing on the effectiveness of tourism destination management by considering environmental and social sustainability issues and the welfare of local communities.
Plans for the Declaration were first laid at the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2017 in Singapore. Its official adoption a year later marks another milestone in ASEAN’s efforts to transform Southeast Asia into a vibrant cruising destination.
'Singapore is proud to announce that the ASEAN states’ collective efforts to develop the ASEAN Declaration for Cruise Tourism have borne fruit,' said Sim Ann, senior minister of state, Ministry of Trade and Industry. She noted this builds on previous work such as the inaugural ATF Cruise Dialogue last year and the launch of the Cruise Southeast Asia brand in 2016.
It also marks the first major economic deliverable undertaken by Singapore since it assumed the ASEAN chairmanship for 2018.
'This will deepen regional connectivity and position ASEAN as a region for seamless economic activity and growing opportunities. We look forward to bringing meaningful benefits to ASEAN businesses and citizens,' Sim said.
The Declaration takes ASEAN a step closer toward achieving its vision of becoming a thriving cruise hub, expanding connectivity within Southeast Asia and driving a strong economic contribution to new ports and their communities. Rising cruise tourism is expected to spur further advancements in port and destination infrastructure, catalysing ship deployments and spin-off benefits for local tourism industries and stakeholders across the region.
With these developments, there is potential to generate up to 4.5m passengers cruising in Southeast Asia by 2031, a ten-fold increase from 2016.
Singapore has much to gain from this. The republic has already built up a strong reputation as the region’s leading cruising gateway due to its strategic location, modern infrastructure and air connectivity to Asia-Pacific and the world.
Singapore’s cruise industry has also enjoyed robust growth in recent years. Its terminals handled 411 cruise calls in 2016, when passenger throughput was approximately 1.2m. A recent study by the Singapore Tourism Board found the cruise industry contributed S$706m in direct spending to Singapore's economy in 2016, an increase of about 36% from 2012.
'The future of cruise tourism for both Singapore and the Southeast Asian region is bright, with strong potential for growth. Cruise development needs to be a concerted regional effort and Singapore will continue to actively engage with our ASEAN counterparts to encourage regional cruise development and jointly promote Southeast Asia as a cruising playground for the world,' Singapore Tourism Board CEO Lionel Yeo said.
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