Asian Ports Lead The Way

Asia continues to expand and improve its cruise infrastructure to satisfy the number and size of ships sailing in the region. This led to the topic of regional cruise developments by port and cruise line executives to be at the forefront of discussions at CSAP 2014.

Proud to show off its Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (image) to event participants at the opening reception, Philip Yung, Commissioner for Tourism in HKSAR said at the ‘Cruise Infrastructure Across Asia’ session, “The new cruise terminal has sparked a 40% growth in home porting ships.”

Mr Yung also pointed out that the multipurpose facility, whilst currently under-utilized for cruise operations will be able to cope with the growing demand foreseen in the near future. With over 50% of the world’s population within five hours flying time of Hong Kong and people from over 100 countries allowed to visit visa free, Hong Kong is confident in drawing more cruise ships both at Kai Tak and Ocean Terminal

For the first time ever, two Asian ports, Singapore and Shanghai appeared in the top ten cruise ports worldwide. This places Hong Kong and Singapore, both double-cruise terminals, in a favorable position as a huge increase in Asian cruisers are expected moving towards 2020.