Photo Courtesy of SBMA
By Joanna Rose Aglibot
A luxury vessel carrying 1,000 passengers and 312 crew arrived in Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday (Oct. 13) in what officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) believed was a key to boosting the local tourism industry.
Liberia-registered MV Blue Dream Star cruise ship’s visit to Subic Bay was its maiden voyage, according to the SBMA, noting that it was the first luxury ship to make a port call to the free port after cruises were halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“The cruise line is the first to offer outbound cruises from China since the onset of the pandemic,” SBMA said in a statement, noting that the vessel came from Xiamen, China.
As soon as the foreigners, mostly Chinese, set foot in the free port, many of them visited different tourist spots, such as the marine theme park Ocean Adventure.
Robert Gonzaga, president and chief executive officer of Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc., which runs Ocean Adventure, described the arrival of the cruise ship as a “significant event for Subic tourism.”
“This is the first arrival of cruise ships since the pandemic lockdown. We hope to welcome many more of these visits this year,” Gonzaga told the Freeport Insider.
According to SBMA Chair and Administrator Jonathan Tan, 11 more cruise ships were expected to visit Subic Bay until Nov. 21. FREEPORT INSIDER
