PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is set to enhance its port facilities to encourage more cruise ships to make the country their homeport and bring in more tourists, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
As such, he said, a technical committee co-chaired by the Transport and the Tourism, Arts, and Culture ministries was established to drive several initiatives.
"Among the initiatives are streamlined Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine procedures to facilitate smoother passenger movements and cruise ship stopovers where the Immigration Department has created a QR code system to streamline immigration clearance for cruise passengers.
"This system will significantly reduce immigration processing times, enhancing shore excursion experiences for our cruise tourists," he told reporters at a press conference after attending the Malaysian Cruise Council meeting, here.
Also present were Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said the country marked a substantial increase in the arrival of cruise ships last year compared to pre-pandemic years, underscoring the industry's potential.
"Each cruise ship brings thousands of passengers into our country, presenting a significant economic opportunity where in 2023, Malaysia received 1,055 cruise ships, bringing in 1.5 million tourists."
As such, he said the establishment of Malaysian ports as a homeport for cruise ships would boost the economy by having more tourist arrivals.
"Currently, most cruise ships dock in Malaysian ports for only a short time and do not take on passengers.
"Establishing Malaysia as a homeport would encourage passengers to enter through Malaysian airports, stay in local hotels before and after their cruise, and spend more within the country."
He said the meeting also discussed the development and enhancement of several terminals across the country to cater for cruise ships.
"For instance, at Port Klang, there are plans to invest in increasing the port's capacity and similarly, in Penang, there are various projects to enhance the surrounding port area."
He also encouraged other potential locations such as Langkawi, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, and Kuantan to develop or enhance their cruise terminal facilities.
"Although many of these places do not yet have dedicated cruise terminals, existing ports can accommodate cruise ships with some improvements.
"We encourage every state government with the potential to receive cruise ships to promote their respective areas."
In addition to infrastructure improvements, Loke said the country has agreed to host Seatrade Cruise Asia next year.
"This annual conference, focusing on the cruise industry, will gather industry players from Asia and beyond, further promoting Malaysia in the cruise tourism sector.
"We hope this event will place Malaysia on the map of international cruise tourism. With these efforts, we aim to attract more cruise ships and boost our economy."
Meanwhile, Tiong said that Malaysia has received around 11.8 million tourists as of June.