A TOTAL of 117 cruise calls with an estimated 86,000 passengers are scheduled to dock in the Philippines this year, according to the Department of Tourism.
Tourism Assistant Secretary Maria Lourdes Japson did not mention the schedule for the calls but named the ports of Manila, Puerto Princesa, and Boracay as the most visited for mid-sized and large ships.
The islands most visited for expedition cruises, meanwhile, include Coron, El Nido, Romblon, Kalanggaman, Limaswa, Cebu, Bohol, Hundred Islands, Siargao, and Camiguin.
“The growth of the cruise industry in the Philippines is remarkable,” Japson said in a press conference in Pasay City noting that cruise calls in the country recorded an average of 52.5 percent in the last five years from 2012 to 2016.
Japson, meanwhile, welcomed the recent announcement of Hong Kong-based cruise line Star Cruises to have a three-month homeport deployment of one of its lines, SuperStar Virgo, to Manila for the first time.
The 900-cabin SuperStar Virgo will be having a six-day, five-night cruise from Manila, to Laoag in Ilocos Norte to Kaohsiung in Taiwan to Hong Kong, and back to Manila from March 19 to May 23.
Passengers can avail of an early bird discount of USD490 per person for cruise departures on March 19, 24, and 29, 2017; third and fourth persons can avail of an additional 50 percent off, USD245 per person excluding port and gratuity charges.
Star Cruises president Ang Moo Lim said that Filipino passengers can enjoy the cruise visa free with “almost unlimited baggage allowance.”
At present, the Cabotage Law or Republic Act No. 10668 allows foreign vessels to transport and co-load foreign cargoes for domestic transshipment and for other purposes.
Japson said that the DoT together with the Department of Transportation is currently looking at relaxing regulatory rules on visa requirements as part of its cruise tourism development strategy.
DoT said that tourist arrivals in the country via cruise ships could grow as much as 15 to 20 percent with the new Manila terminal. Currently, 99 percent of tourist arrivals enter the country by plane and the remaining one percent enter via cruise ships.
Star Cruises is the first-ever global leisure cruise line to homeport in Manila.
Operating since 1993, Star Cruises has a fleet of six vessels including SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Libra, SuperStar Gemina, SuperStar Aquarius, Star Pisces and The Taipan.