Everything has come together perfectly for the return of international cruises to Hong Kong and for the destination to reclaim its position as Asia's Cruise Hub. This was the message enthusiastically conveyed by the Hong Kong Tourism Board at a special luncheon for media and cruise line representatives held at Seatrade Cruise Global.
In the last two months, the Hong Kong market has regained the advantages that make it so attractive to international cruise lines. In 2023, it will have more than 160 port calls from 16 cruise lines.
In January 2023, Silversea became the first international cruise line to return to Hong Kong waters in nearly three years, thanks to collaboration between the local government, the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and port authorities. With four ultra-luxury ships sailing in Asia Pacific waters in 2023, Silversea is investing heavily in the region and has seen tremendous growth within this market.
Visits and deployments by Silversea Cruises, TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and year-round homeporting by Resorts World Cruises highlight the city's potential to host a wide variety of cruise products, as well as the availability of the flight network for developing fly-cruise turnaround itineraries for short- and long-haul markets.
Since the beginning of the popularization of the global cruise industry, Hong Kong has been a prominent stage for cruise lines to develop new products and attract new customers from the huge mainland market of 86 million people who arrive from the cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area via the high-speed train and the iconic Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the world's longest sea crossing.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board launched a large-scale global promotional campaign, “Hello Hong Kong,” focused on showcasing the city’s reopening with its legendary vibrancy and exciting new developments, events, and activities. It is also working and communicating with cruise operators to achieve continued productivity and efficiency in the sector at the highest level. New initiatives presented by Kenneth Wong at the Seatrade Cruise Global luncheon include “multiple support measures, such as facilitating itinerary planning, subsidizing port operating costs, and launching consumer demand-stimulating campaigns, to ensure the cruise lines’ deployment is an unprecedented success.”
According to Kenneth Wong, “All signs point to a strong return of international cruises and a bright future. We expect a robust cruise schedule as lines and visitors return to what has always been one of Asia’s premier cruise hubs and tourism capitals.”
