MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
SULTAN OF SELANGOR LAUNCHES PORT KLANG CRUISE TERMINAL
PORT KLANG, 5 September 2022 – His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj lbni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj officiated the launch of Port Klang Cruise Terminal (“PKCT”), a joint venture cruise terminal in Port Klang owned by Klang Port Management Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (“Northport”) and Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“Westports”). The launch event was held on 5 September 2022 at PKCT inV Pulau lndah, Port Klang.
“In 2019, Malaysia’s cruise tourism sector captured the highest market share in Southeast Asia region by the number of port calls. Port Klang was the leading dedicated cruise terminal operator in Malaysia with 40% market share based on number of port calls in the same year. To date, Port Klang has handled more than 5 million passengers and more than 5,500 cruise ships since it began operations in 1995”, said Dato’ Azman.
As with most economic sectors, PKCT was not spared by the COVID-19 pandemic as the cruise industry was on a standstill due to the lockdown. Nevertheles,sPKCT persevered and pivoted towards serving laid up vessels during the last two years.
“On 1 July 2022, we were delighted to see the resumption of cruise ships calling at our terminal. The arrival of Spectrum of the Seas owned by Royal Caribbean International was a significant milestone, as it marked the revival of cruise tourism due to COVID-related travel restrictions. On 4 July 2022, Resort World Cruises began home-porting at PKCT, with its vessel, Genting Dream, and this has received tremendous response from local holidaymakers. We are pleased to announce that since 1 July 2022, we have had 32 cruise ship calls with 73,924 passengers arriving in PKCT”, added Dato’ Azman.
“PKCT has the competitive advantage to be Asia’s top cruise ships destination. The terminal is strategically located in the most developed and progressive state in the country, Selangor Darul Ehsan, which has myriad of tourism attractions. The terminal is also about 1 hour drive to Kuala Lumpur, one of the most visited cities in the world. Owing to its strategic location, PKCT has the capability to attract major global passenger cruise liners”, said Dato’ Azman.
PKCT is one of the few cruise terminals in the region capable of handling large modern cruise and navy vessels comfortably, with a reputation of efficient port services and convenient facilities and amenities for both cruise passengers and crew.
The five-story terminal is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and amenities for the comfort of passengers and terminal users including link bridges for embarkation and disembarkation, covered walkways connecting between wharf and terminal, ATM machines, foreign exchange counters, wi-fi zone, convenience stores, souvenir and gift shops, duty-free outlets, Mah Meri exhibition area and a Tourist Information Centre set up by Tourism Selangor. Ample parking space is also available for cars, taxis and buses to take the passengers for onshore excursions.
To welcome the resumption of the cruise tourism, PKCT has introduced a new attraction for cruise ships’ passengers and crew which is ‘Cruise Day Fiesta’ featuring food trucks, art and craft exhibitions, and traditional dance performance at the PKCT terminal building in conjunction with Tourism Selangor.
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