The cruise industry in South-east Asia yielded US$10 billion (S$12.7 billion) in 2024, making up 5 per cent of the global cruise industry’s output.
Spend per passenger in the region was 2.4 times the global average, at US$2,564 per visit, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on April 15, citing figures from the inaugural Economic Impact Assessment of Cruise Tourism for Southeast Asian countries.
Singapore captured 48 per cent of the region’s 3.9 million passenger visitors.
The study, produced by travel and tourism industry consulting firm Tourism Economics for the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), in partnership with STB, showed that overall, South-east Asia’s cruise tourism contributed US$4.5 billion to the region’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The region accounted for 2 per cent of 186 million global cruise passengers in 2024, capturing 5 per cent of global cruise-related GDP.
STB said the data showed that cruise tourism introduces visitors to the region’s diverse attractions and helps generate sustained tourism demand beyond the initial cruise visit.
It also reinforced the strategic importance of South-east Asia in the global cruise landscape.
With Singapore and Malaysia collectively accounting for 70 per cent of South-east Asian cruise passenger visits in 2024, there remains significant potential for other destinations in the region to develop cruise capabilities to capture a larger share of the growing market, STB added.
“This study reinforces South-east Asia’s strong cruise tourism value proposition, driven by a growing middle class, rising demand for diverse travel experiences, and rich destination variety”, said Jean Ng, assistant chief executive of the experience development group at STB.
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According to CLIA, global passenger numbers are expected to reach 42 million by 2028, up from 34.6 million in 2024.
Singapore’s cruise sector saw a bump in both ship calls and passenger throughput from January to September 2025. STB data showed that year on year, the number of ship calls rose 10 per cent to 375 for the nine months, while passengers rose over 9 per cent to exceed two million.
STB said that the sector demonstrated strong momentum, “cementing Singapore’s position as the region’s leading cruise hub in 2025”.
There were also major infrastructure developments on the cruise front in 2025.
The $40 million Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore expansion was completed in October 2025, increasing passenger capacity from 6,800 to 11,700.
Cruise options diversified in 2025 with the inclusion of new ships operating from Singapore, including StarDream Cruises’ Star Voyager, Royal Caribbean International’s Ovation of the Seas and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s Luminara.
The most high-profile of the lot is Asia’s first Disney cruise ship, the Disney Adventure, which set sail on its maiden voyage on March 10, 2026, to much fanfare.
The ship, which has a passenger capacity of 6,700 and is the newest and largest in Disney Cruise Line’s fleet, will use Singapore as its base for at least five years.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
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