Subic Bay’s journey as an emerging cruise ship destination began in 2016 at the Asia Cruise Forum in Jeju, South Korea. For the first time, a delegation from the Philippines, composed of officials from the SBMA, participated in the forum and actively promoted Subic Bay as a cruise ship destination.

In 2017, the SBMA sent another mission to attend the 5th International Cruise Summit in Qingdao, China. At that event, major cruise lines already began acquiring information about Subic Bay’s ports and attractions, and scheduled ocular inspections with the hope of making Subic Bay among their tour destinations. On February 1, 2018, officials of one of the major cruise lines in Asia went to Subic for a visit and right then and there booked the arrival of Costa Atlantica for February 10 of the same year. The said arrival turned out to be the first of 14 visits by this ship alone. For the whole of 2018, Subic Bay welcomed 19 ship visits that brought in 38,205 passengers, resulting in P128,926,296.64 in economic impact for its stakeholders.

In 2019, a total of 18 ships visited Subic Bay from three different cruise lines. In that year, a total of 49,202 passengers graced the shores of Subic Bay, benefitting stakeholders from Subic and the nearby areas with an economic impact of P173,261,759.04.

Meanwhile, a total of three ship calls were recorded in 2020 before Subic Bay had to halt further arrivals from cruise vessels due to the threat of Covid-19. 21 visits had to be cancelled because of the global health threat brought about by the viral pathogen.

This exponential increase in arrivals from just receiving one cruise ship per year from 2012 to 2017, to the figures as aforementioned is a testament to Subic Bay’s tagline of making each guest’s experience FUN-tastic. As such, Subic Bay has consistently garnered top ratings and evaluations by cruise ship guests and officials.

Each visit is considered a highlight to the Subic Bay community. Performers, as well as well-wishers, welcome and greet cruise passengers as they arrive and disembark from their ships. Interpreters are present on-site to help guests communicate with local residents, while multilingual brochures are given to them so that they can explore the area of Subic Bay should they wish to do so on their own. Performers also bid them farewell during the send-off.

Despite being new to the circle of destinations that cater to the cruise ship industry, Subic Bay has proven itself to be a premier location and environment for those who wish to experience and get a unique taste of adventure in the Southeast Asian Region. Benefitting from its natural deep harbor, coupled with captivating tourist attractions and amenities, Subic Bay has become a promising frontrunner port of call to cruise lines in recent years.

With the unwavering support of the government, through the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Subic Bay has welcomed cruise travelers around the world, offering them a convenient, hassle-free, and safe time while they relax and enjoy what the anchor destination has to offer. Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, the SBMA never rested on its laurels but took the opportunity to find ways to further improve its services by buckling down in promoting health and safety measures, developing its infrastructure, and constantly communicating with its stakeholders, in pursuit of having its operations ready and organized come the new normal.

As countries begin to economically recover from the global health crisis and start to reopen their travel and tourism destinations, the SBMA joins them in taking proactive but steady steps towards accommodating visitors through these cruise ships and providing them the best enjoyable experience for their sought leisure or vacation. To this end, the SBMA submits this entry before the Asia Cruise Leaders Network as it aspires for an award for the Best Emerging Cruise Ship Destination and Best in Good Governance (Public Sector), in support of the cruise ship industry.