Star Cruises - Race for new hot spots

Race for new hot spots as cruise industry growsTourists made a total of 450,000 visits to Hong Kong aboard cruise liners in the first nine months of this year - an increase of 150 percent over the same period last year.
Una So Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Tourists made a total of 450,000 visits to Hong Kong aboard cruise liners in the first nine months of this year - an increase of 150 percent over the same period last year.

The boom has led tourism bodies to explore new cruise destinations in the Greater China region and Asia Pacific, helped by the expected opening of the territory's second cruise terminal at Kai Tak in 2012.

Speaking at a ceremony yesterday to mark the arrival of Star Cruises' redeployed vessel, SuperStar Libra, Hong Kong Tourism Board executive director Anthony Lau Chun-hon said the cruise industry is now the fastest- growing tourism sector worldwide, and the Asia Pacific region will be the hot spot for growth.

Among the 450,000 cruise visits, more than half were made by tourists who flew here first and toured Hong Kong before boarding cruise liners.

Lau said Hong Kong needs to step up the game amid stiff competition from neighbors to become a regional cruise hub.

Star Cruises - the world's third- largest cruise operator owned by Malaysia's Genting Group - is one of the leading bidders for the Kai Tak cruise terminal project announced on November 9. William Ng Ko-yin, executive director of Star Cruises, said the company is interested in bidding for the project with partners, and hopes to submit its proposals soon.

Tenders will close on March 7 next year.

Tourism commissioner Au King-chi recently met with representatives from Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and Hainan provinces in Kunming to discuss the possibility of opening up more destinations for cruise tourists.

Cruise operators are also positioning themselves as Hong Kong steps up efforts to become the region's cruise hub.

The 42,000-tonne SuperStar Libra, which can carry 1,480 passengers, will operate out of Hong Kong until March next year.

At present, Star Cruises is the only cruise operator to have three vessels based in Hong Kong.

The other two are SuperStar Aquarius and Star Pisces, while another liner, Virgo, will join the fleet next year.

SuperStar Libra will soon begin cruises to Zhanjiang, Haikou and Sanya in the mainland, Halong Bay in Vietnam and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

Ng said exploring new destinations in the Asia Pacific and the Greater China region will help the group meet its future targets.

"The cruise business must have good connections with nearby countries - having a terminal is not enough," he said.

The Tourism Commission said having more cruise vessels based in Hong Kong will strengthen the territory's position as a regional cruise hub.