SINGAPORE: It may not be full steam ahead for the cruise industry amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but those operating out of Singapore are finding strategic ways to stay afloat.
To navigate surging marine fuel prices, ship captains are actively reducing sailing speeds and rerouting vessels, while firms are quietly scaling back their usual promotions, cruise operators and industry watchers said.
While airlines and cargo firms grapple with fuel shortages and route disruptions, the cruise sector appears to be charting a much steadier course, they added.
For one, holidaymakers are still arriving at and embarking from Singapore’s cruise terminals in droves.
In response to CNA’s queries on whether the Middle East crisis has affected demand in cruise vacations, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said international cruise arrivals to Singapore jumped by 10 per cent year-on-year in March this year.
STB’s director of cruises, Ms Chitra Rajesh Kumar, said Indonesia, mainland China and Malaysia were the top three source markets.
“Correspondingly, cruise passengers from these markets also increased during this period,” she said.
For vacationers like Ms Kristabel Quek, 40, the broader energy crisis hasn’t dampened the appeal of the high seas.
