Beauty of the Philippines

Subic Freeport has been chosen as the first and only destination in the Philippines for international luxury cruise ships as a new regular route is being mulled in the Asia-Pacific rim.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has been invited to join as one of the founding members of the newly created Asia Cruise Terminals Association (ACTA) joining Asia’s top cruise ship destinations such as China, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Sri Lanka and India.??The association was organized by Singapore Cruise Centre Pte Ltd., the only cruise and ferry port operator in Singapore which manages passenger travel within the Southeast Asian Region. Singapore is one of the busiest seaports in world being the top-ranked transshipment port and regional hub for passenger travel in the region.

ACTA was formed to provide a unified marketing platform in the Asian region which is set to be formally launched on January 2011 as a non-profit organization.

SBMA Administrator Armand C. Arreza said joining ACTA is a strategic move for SBMA as parts of our efforts to build solid business network with member countries.

Mr. Arreza said that the SBMA is targeting major players in luxury cruise ship industry such as Star Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Silver Seas, Costa Crocere and other key players to make Subic as part of their cruise itinerary.

Singapore Cruise Centre Pte Ltd Vice President Ivan Ng said that among several other ports in the Philippines, Subic Freeport was chosen because of its readiness to play a key role in the cruise ship industry.

“We are glad that SBMA will be one of the founding members of ACTA, we have only chosen one port in the Philippines and that is Subic Bay Freeport”, Mr Ng said.??Mr. Ng said that Subic has the port infrastructures, deep natural harbor, support facilities, security and tourist attractions.

“I am now convinced, and this strengthens the business case for Subic, that indeed, it is ready to play a key role in the cruise ship industry,” Mr. Ng said.

SBMA deputy administrator for tourism Raul Marcelo said that Singapore Cruise Centre, which handles 9 million passengers annually, will serve as the model for SBMA to establish a cruise ship industry in Subic Freeport.

“Benchmarking from Singapore Cruise Center would mean learning expertise from the best of the best in terms of passenger handling, formulating waterfront development plans to integrate with the passenger terminal, technology, marketing activities and maintaining the momentum of the cruise ship market growth,” Mr. Marcelo said.

 

Related posts:

1. British & French tourists in top cruise ship visit RP
2. Philip Morris builds P1-B Subic warehouse
3. RP a key adventure Asian destination
4. RP is no.1 destination for Chinese tourists
5. RP wins 2009 Asian Livestock Award

 

 

     Print