"Today we have the arrival of the Azamara Onward cruise ship. There are 500 passengers, and 180 people disembark, both those who bought tour packages and those who are independent," said the Acting Mayor of Sabang, Reza Fahlevi in Sabang on Tuesday (9/4/2024) as reported by Antara.
The 180.45 meters-length cruise ship was docked at Pier CT-3 BPKS in the Port of Sabang. MS Azamara Onward previously sailed from Port Klang, near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After a day's stopover in Weh Island, the cruise ship will continue its journey to the Port of Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
Acting Mayor Fahlevi said that even though his arrival was during Ramadan, his party still welcomed him according to the standards that apply in Sabang. He explained that as a tourist destination, every tourist who enters Sabang will impact the community's economy. This will positively influence the people of Indonesia's westernmost city, which depends on tourist arrivals, in addition to the fisheries and agricultural sectors.
"We hope that more and more of them will shop here. They will spend money in Sabang, buy existing products, and use the services offered by tourism actors in Sabang," he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Head of the Sabang Area Concession Agency (BPKS), Teuku Zanuarsyah said that besides the MS Azamara Onward, the Bahamas-flagged MS Crystal Serenity cruise ship will also stop in Sabang on Wednesday (10/4/2024), on Eid al-Fitr day.
According to Zanuarsyah, the BPKS and Sabang city government continue to collaborate to increase foreign tourist visits to Sabang, thereby impacting the community's economy. He said that it must also be supported by service quality improvement.
"This year there are several other cruise ships that will also visit Sabang city, namely in May, November, and December, that is what has been scheduled," he said. (Antara)
