The Philippine Consulate General, represented by Deputy Consul General Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan and Consul Fatima G. Quintin, attended the Farewell Event of SuperStar Virgo cruise ship docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Kowloon.

The event was also graced by Genting Cruise Lines executives, members of the consular corps and other travel and tourism stakeholders.

At the farewell, which doubled as Genting Cruise Lines’ Chinese New Year celebration, the predominantly Filipino ship crew performed a medley of lively dance numbers, to the audience’s delight.

During its 20-year service history, SuperStar Virgo has featured Manila as one of its ports of call, as well as a homeport.

After a two-month renovation in Genting Cruises’ shipyard in Germany, SuperStar Virgo will join the Dream Cruises fleet, also under Genting, as Explorer Dream, and will sail across Asia and the Pacific, specifically in Australia and New Zealand.

Philippine cruise tourism has seen significant growth since the launch of the National Cruise Tourism Development Strategy in 2016, with the Philippine government pushing for cruise tourism initiatives, including development of cruise terminals and improvement of other related facilities.

Both the Philippines and Hong Kong are also members of the Asia Cruise Cooperation which aims to promote maximum cruise tourism growth in Asia.