PUTRAJAYA, The government is set to develop and enhance the infrastructure at existing ports to make Malaysia a ‘homeport’ for cruise ships, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook. He said several improvements were being made, including increasing the capacity at Port Klang Cruise Terminal to accommodate more cruise ships and beautifying the surroundings of Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal in Penang. Loke said that existing ports in Langkawi, Melaka, Kuantan, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching, although lacking cruise ship infrastructure, could support cruise ships if upgrades were implemented. "The Malaysian cruise sector has shown strong growth after COVID-19. Malaysia received 1,055 cruise ships in 2023, bringing in 1.5 million tourists. This marks an 85 per cent increase in cruise ship arrivals compared to 2019," he said at a press conference after the Malaysia Cruise Council (MCC) meeting here today. Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing was also present. Loke said efforts to attract more cruise ships and make Malaysia a homeport would bring economic benefits, given that most cruise ships currently only stopped for a few hours. "The advantage of being a homeport is that more people will enter through airports, and accommodation and spending will also increase," he explained. Therefore, Loke urged state governments with the potential to receive cruise ships to promote their respective areas. Loke said that to accelerate the growth of the cruise ship industry in Malaysia, a technical committee had been established, co-chaired by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. He added that among the roles of the committee was to drive and facilitate the movement of passengers and cruise ship stops swiftly and effectively. Source: BERNAMA News Agency