Malaysia is ready to welcome international cruise travellers again

Before the pandemic, Malaysia received more than 600 ship calls and 900,000 cruise passengers. — Filepic

Malaysia is ready to welcome international cruise travellers again, according to Tourism Malaysia.

The tourism board has been actively promoting shore excursions, port facilities as well as pre- and post-cruise tours as borders fully reopen.

Tourism Malaysia vice president (Los Angeles) Akbal Setia said it’s timely to promote the country’s cruise sector again as travel gradually resumes.

“We are now back into travel normalcy, and this is the right time for us to promote our organisations and partnerships, in particular, Malaysia as the next point of embarkation for cruise travellers into Asia and South-East Asia regions,” he said in a statement.

Akbal was recently at the Seatrade Cruise Global Expo 2022 in Miami, Florida in the United States, to promote cruise tourism and to attract more ship operators to berth in Malaysia.

Malaysia is one of the most attractive cruise destinations in the region and is also on the most round-the-world cruise routes.

“Situated in the heart of South-East Asia, some of the world’s best cruise ships operate in Malaysian waters and offer an excellent combination of recreation facilities, entertainment, gourmet meals, and exotic destinations,” said Tourism Malaysia.

Before the pandemic, Malaysia received more than 600 ship calls and 900,000 cruise passengers. Over the years, the country has welcomed well-known cruise liners such as Celebrity Cruises, Regal Cruises, Star Cruises, Seabourn, Royal Caribbean and TUI Cruises.

Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang recently revealed that the recent Matta Fair showed positive signs for the cruise sector.

“Many visitors checked out the exhibitors selling not only domestic but international packages as well and it was vibrant with many sales concluded. Cruise packages also sold well at the fair,” he reportedly said.

However, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion has prompted many cruise cancellations globally.

Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Cunard were some of the latest cruise lines forced to either alter or cancel sailings recently. – Chester Chin