SINGAPORE: Genting Hong Kong Ltd’s Dream Cruises' first vessel, the Genting Dream, is set to make Singapore its home port to access new Asean destinations.

Dream Cruises president Thatcher Brown today announced that the Genting Dream, will be home-ported in Singapore from Dec 3 this year and cater to Singaporean and broader Asian Pacific fly-cruise vacationers.

"It really was an easy decision for us. Singapore is a popular, well-developed, strategic gateway and travel hub for the region with excellent cruise and tourist infrastructure," Brown told a press conference at the Asean Tourism Forum 2017.

From Singapore, Genting Dream will be able to offer different itineraries and call at over 10 ports in Southeast Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Singapore Tourism Board chief executive Lionel Yeo said the island state regularly receives ships of over 150,000 gross tonnes in its four berths at two world class cruise terminals, namely the Singapore Cruise Centre and Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

Yeo also noted that the cruise industry remains vibrant in Asia with passenger volumes growing at a compounded annual rate of 39% between 2013 and 2015.

Yeo, citing data from the Cruise Lines International Association, said there is projected to be about 3.8 million passengers cruising in Asia by 2020.

The Genting Dream is an 18-deck, 151,300-tonne luxury liner that can accommodate 3,400 guests and 2,000 crew members. Its features include personalised European butler service, a waterslide park, the Zouk nightclub and over 35 dining concepts.

Built in Germany, Genting Dream is billed as the first cruise line from Asia that caters to the luxury market. The ship made a stopover in Singapore last year en route to Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.

Dream Cruises senior vice president of sales Michael Goh said China remains an important source market for the cruise operator but having a home port in Singapore means that the regional market of Asia Pacific, including India, will also be an important market.

According to Goh, apart from the leisure segment, business-related travel on cruise ships has also gained popularity as more companies choose to conduct their meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) events at sea.

When asked, Genting Hong Kong founding president and chief executive Colin Au declined comment on how this new development will benefit Genting Singapore Ltd's gaming and hospitality business here.

"That's a separately listed company... This will benefit everyone in Singapore," Au said.

Dream Cruises' parent company Genting Hong Kong Ltd is known for its well-established Star Cruises brand which has a fleet of six vessels namely the SuperStar Virgo, SuperStar Gemini, SuperStar Aquarius, SuperStar Libra, Star Pisces and The Taipan. Genting Hong Kong also owns the German shipyard Lloyd Werft Group, nightlife brand Zouk and has a stake in Resorts World Manila.

Genting Hong Kong also runs one of the world’s leading luxury cruise providers, Crystal Cruises.

Apart from Genting Dream, Dream Cruises is set to launch another ship, the World Dream, later this year.