New cruise itineraries between Singapore and Indonesia have been developed since the last leaders' retreat in October 2018, leaving Singaporeans even more spoilt for choice when it comes to travel options to the world's largest island country.

New cruises to Bintan & Belitung

These new cruises include Royal Caribbean International's Voyager of the Seas, sailing from Singapore to Bintan in May 2019.

This brought about 15,000 passengers to Indonesia, according to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

And it's not just Bintan.

Belitung, one of Indonesia's "10 new Balis", will see the first large cruise ship Genting Dream call on it in September 2020.

The island is expected to see more than 3,000 cruise passengers visit as a result of the additional source of visitors.

Tourism cooperation

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Tourism Cooperation on Nov. 14, 2016.

Both countries also formed a Bilateral Cruise Inter-Agency Task Force in July 2017 to further boost economic growth.

The task force will focus on developing ports and itineraries, joint marketing, as well as engaging the cruise industry to spur cruise tourism development.

Cruise tourism in Asia

Asia's cruise tourism has grown over the years, with passenger capacity having risen at a 122 percent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2014 to 2019.

This reflects a year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent for the global cruise industry -- 28.5 million passengers were carried in cruises in 2018.

The Southeast Asian region is expected to receive up to 4.5 million cruise passengers by the year 2035, according to a 2017 report by Bermello Ajamil and Partners Inc, making it a tenfold increase from 2016.

Jokowi in Singapore

Jokowi will be in Singapore for the fourth Leader's Retreat on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Both countries are expected to review progress on past agreements, and to sign a number of MOUs that will see greater cooperation in areas such as defence partnership and people-to-people cultural exchanges.

Top image via Bintan Resorts