Cruise tourism development is gaining attention within the Malaysian government, with investments pumped into port infrastructure development to enable the country to attract more cruise ships to homeport and, in turn, lift international tourist arrivals and the local economy.

Transport minister Anthony Loke recently shared at a press conference that improvements included expanding the capacity at Selangor’s Port Klang Cruise Terminal and beautifying the surroundings at Penang’s Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal.

Loke noted that ports in Langkawi, Kuantan, Melaka, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching could also support cruise ships with upgraded infrastructure.

A technical committee has been formed to spearhead various cruise industry initiatives and attract more cruise operators to homeport in Malaysia. This is led by both the Transport and the Tourism, Arts, and Culture ministries.

Local media The New Straits Times reported that one of the initiatives of the new technical committee would involve the simplification of customs, immigration, and quarantine procedures to ensure smoother passenger movements and cruise ship stopovers.

“The Immigration Department has introduced a QR code system to expedite immigration clearance for cruise passengers. This system will greatly reduce processing times, enhancing the shore excursion experiences for our cruise tourists,” Loke told the media.

In 2023, Malaysia received 1,055 cruise ships which brought 1.5 million tourists to the Malaysian shores. It was an 85 per cent increase in cruise ship arrivals compared with 2019.

Loke said: “Establishing Malaysia as a (cruise) homeport would encourage passengers to enter through Malaysian airports, stay in local hotels before and after their cruise, and spend more within the country.”

Currently, most cruise ships dock in Malaysian ports for a few hours while passengers go on shore excursions. Ships do not take on new passengers.