Singapore Cruise Centre integrates SITA’s digital travel solutions

SITA has signed a deal with Singapore Cruise Centre (SCC) to improve the passenger experience at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT) and HarbourFront Ferry Terminal (HFFT). As part of this project, SITA will deliver its advanced technology solutions, Smart Path hardware and Flex as a Service, to SCC.

SITA’s Smart Path technology, including biometric-ready kiosks, self-bag drop, and gates, will modernise the passenger experience at TMFT and HFFT. SCC is also adopting SITA’s Flex as a Service across all passenger-processing touch points, which enables agile and responsive passenger processing, and creates a platform for SCC to build custom passenger-facing applications. The upgraded ferry terminals, which serve as Singapore’s gateway to Indonesia’s Riau Islands and the southeastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, are expected to handle about seven million plus passengers annually.

Sumesh Patel, President of Asia Pacific at SITA, said: “Seamless travel by air, sea, or land will be one of the drivers of growth for the travel and transport industry, with transport hubs seeing a need to quickly digitalise their infrastructure to remain ahead of the curve. At SITA, we help these transport hubs do just that through our innovative solutions. Singapore Cruise Centre is a clear example of this, as it shows how technology can make passenger processing more efficient, secure, and enjoyable.”

The project involves the installation of 45 SITA Smart Path Kiosks across both terminals, also providing a platform for biometric authentication implementation in the future as part of the International Air Transport Association’s One ID initiative. There will be 10 SITA Smart Path Bag Drop solutions to streamline the bag check-in process with SITA’s TS6 Kiosks, and 13 new SITA Smart Path Gates for efficient boarding procedures.

SCC will also integrate its new cloud-based Departure Control System (Cruise and Ferry Operation System) via SITA Flex.

Lee Siew Kit, Vice President of Technology and IT at SCC, said: “We are happy to partner with SITA to bring aviation technologies to the maritime passenger industry so that we can provide similar seamless and future contactless experiences for our ferry, fly-ferry and fly-cruise passengers. The new technology will help the ecosystem streamline processes, and scale to handle more passengers through our terminals in the future.”

Julian Panter, CEO of SmartSea, added: “The maritime sector is currently around a decade behind the air transport industry in terms of digitalisation of its terminal and passenger processing infrastructure. This partnership with Singapore Cruise Centre is an important step for digitalising the maritime industry, helping it to reach new levels of technology in passenger processing. At SmartSea, a SITA company, we’re embarking on a journey to bring the same technological innovation that revolutionised air travel to the maritime world.”

According to a new SITA 2024 Passenger IT Insights report, amid growing traffic, passengers are looking to digitisation to upgrade their travel experience.