Coming a-callin? in Brunei

The number of cruise ships calling on Brunei has increased since 2007, due partly to the growing number of international liners plying South-east Asian routes, said Brunei Tourism director of marketing and promotions Jean Christophe Robles Espinosa.

International cruise lines such as Italy?s Costa Cruises and Germany?s Aida Cruises have deployed ships to be based in Asia, and Brunei often figures in their list of port of calls.

This comes at an opportune time for the sultanate. Other market segments such as FIT travel and MICE have slowed down, said Lawrence Pakianathan, operations and business development manager for Malaysia, Brunei & Indonesia of Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, the official shore excursion agent for Costa, Aida and Princess Cruises, among others.

Brunei Tourism provides traditional welcome receptions when the ships call at Muara Port, said Espinosa.

Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services also attends Seatrade events in Miami, Europe and Asia to market and promote cruising in the region.

Cruise Ship Centre, managed by Brunei Port Authority, provides retail services such as money-changing stalls, souvenir shops, sale of handicraft items and F&B outlets, at Muara Port.

Local villagers have been enjoying the spin-off from increased cruise activity as tour operators pay them for their services during shore excursions. The latter often include city tours, mangrove river safaris and programmes at the Ulu Temburong National Park.

The purchasing power of cruise visitors has also helped spur Brunei?s local cottage industries, particularly the handicraft sector that produces wood carvings, baskets and items made of woven material. These can all be purchased at the Cruise Ship Centre and the Kampong Ayer Cultural and Tourism Gallery.

 According to Travelhub managing director Adam Tan, the sultanate lacks coaches to handle cruise passengers, especially when more than two cruise ships call on the
same day.
 
Tan thus has had to resort to bringing in coaches from Miri, Sarawak to address the shortfall. 

The shortage of capable foreign-speaking guides, particularly for the German, Spanish, Italian, French and Japanese markets, is another challenge, said Tan. Cruise ships often resolve this issue themselves by using their own translators during shore excursions.

Tour operators agree that Brunei Tourism should market the destination to cruise liners by attending more cruise events.

?They should also look into creating more new tourism products and training more foreign-speaking guides,? said Lawrence.