Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise company, officially opened its regional headquarters at the Marina Bay Financial Centre on Friday. Carnival operates a fleet of 101 ships, and holds 50 per cent of the global cruise market share.

"Asia is one of the world's fastest growing cruise regions, and the establishment of our regional office in Singapore underscores Carnival corporation's significant step towards developing these markets," said Carnival Asia's chairman and chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi.

He estimates that the potential number of cruise passengers in Asia could hit 3.7 million in 2017 and this number may double to over seven million by 2020.

As part of Carnival's expansion plans, it plans to grown the operations of brands Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in the region. Cruise ship Costa Atlantica also made its maiden call to Singapore on Friday. The ship, which has a capacity of 2,680 passengers, is offering three- and four-night cruises to Thailand and Malaysia from May to June this year.