Hong Kong and Partner Destinations: Policies That Support the Cruise Industry

The Hong Kong Tourism Board and its partner destinations shared the latest updates and developments on the cruise market at event on Monday in Miami Beach.

Along with representatives from South Korea, the Philippines and Xiamen, the board hosted a cocktail party and luncheon for cruise industry executives on Monday.

“We are very optimistic about the cruise industry in Hong Kong. We did very well in 2024 in several areas,” said Joanne Chu, deputy commissioner for tourism from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In terms of long-haul arrivals, the destination surpassed 2023 numbers last year, with visitors coming from regions like the United States and Europe, she added.

“We see that many visitors are coming back to Hong Kong to embark on cruises,” Chu told Cruise Industry News.

While overall numbers of visitors indicate a growth of 60 percent on a yearly basis, Hong Kong also saw more cruise lines call in 2024 compared to 2023.

“It means that different cruise brands are planning or actually having itineraries to Hong Kong, and we are very happy about that,” she continued.

“I think we are doing quite well, considering that we only resumed our operations in 2023. We’ve done our best to catch up with the market in the past year,” Chu said.

Hong Kong also introduced new policies for cruise lines, including a discount in fees for vessels visiting the port during the summer.

The destination is working on a plan to become a sustainable port as well, focusing on offering operators green fuels and shore power connections.

Other destinations in Asia, including South Korea, are bullish too, coming off a strong 2024.

“The number of ships and tourists visiting us increased by 30 percent year over year,” said Jae Min Park, deputy director, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea.

“We are committed to developing sophisticated and attractive tourist products that will appeal even more to potential tourists,” he added.

Aiming at an international audience, the country is currently promoting fly-cruise operations at the port of Incheon.

“Last year we had five fly-cruises, and we plan to have more than ten this year, promoting Incheon as a homeport.”

The Philippines is seeing similar growth in its ports, with cruise calls going up from 100 in 2023 to 130 in 2024, said Dr. Paulo Benito Tugbang, director for product development, Philippine Department of Tourism.

“A lot of things have changed for us since last year, in terms of itineraries, policy and volume. We also added more destinations: now we have over 40 available for cruise lines,” he said.

The country also introduced a cruise visa waiver to promote easy entry into the Philippines, Tugbang added.

“If you or your ship carries nationalities that are not visa-free in our country, in the past, you needed to apply for a visa on arrival. Now it’s just visa-free as long as you apply for a waiver,” he explained, noting that the ships can handle this process.

The program has been very well accepted, he added, especially by cruise ships coming from China and India.