The first TUI Cruises ship to berth at the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal Mein Schiff 1 will spend the winter season cruising from the hub in Southeast Asia departing on three different seven-day routes to Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand with 2,000 German-speaking guests on board.
Wybcke Meier, ceo of TUI Cruises, and TUI AG board member Sebastian Ebel and Thomas Ellerbeck, group director corporate & external affairs, traveled to Singapore for the milestone call.
They joined Rolf Noack, captain of Mein Schiff 1, in welcoming Dr. Michael Witter, Germany's ambassador in Singapore, Lionel Yeo, chief executive of Singapore Tourism Board, on-board.
Meier commented: 'Singapore is an experienced cruising metropolis. With its modern terminals and strategically favorable location in Southest Asia, this Asian city state is the ideal base port for developing this new region for us.' She added, 'We are sure many of our guests will take the opportunity of spending a few additional days in Singapore either before or after their cruise.'
Yeo said: 'We are pleased that TUI Cruises has chosen to begin its inaugural Asia season in Singapore. This confidence in Singapore and Southeast Asia will help to accelerate the growth of the cruise industry here in and spur greater port and destination development.'
To mark TUI Cruises commitment in Southeast Asia, it has entered into a marketing partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board and the Changi Airport Group. It is hoped that this partnership will help to attract over 90,000 cruise passengers from Germany, Switzerland and Austria to Southeast Asia in the next three years, generating an estimated S$50m in tourism receipts.
