JAKARTA. The country’s second largest sea gateway, Tanjung Perak Port in East Java, recorded a 300-percent growth in the number of cruise ship passengers arriving at the port in 2014.

State-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III (Pelindo III) spokesman Edi Priyanto said that the number of cruise ship tourists throughout 2014 totalled 7,218 people, up from 1,762 tourists in 2013.

“We recorded a significant increase in the number of cruise ship tourists last year since 11 cruise ships made stops at Tanjung Perak, while in 2013 the number of [cruise] ships [that stopped at the port] was only three,” Edi said on Thursday.

He said that improvements in infrastructure and services made at the port throughout 2013 lured cruise liners to make more calls to Tanjung Perak, which is located in Surabaya, the archipelago’s second biggest city.

The company is committed to continue upgrading the port in order to lure more cruise liners to Surabaya, helping the central government to develop the tourism sector.

Pelindo III has just launched its new cruise terminal, Gapura Surya Nusantara terminal, to cater to the needs of cruise liners.

In addition, Edi said that two cruise ships would make stops at Tanjung Perak in January.

Today, the Crystal Symphony cruise from the Bahamas arrived at the port, bringing around 700 passengers and 300 crew.

The passengers enjoyed a one-day city tour, visiting a number of interesting spots across Surabaya.( Nurfika Osman)

Editor: Hendra Gunawan