Carnival Corporation has signed an agreement with the Japanese port city of Sasebo, which will see the company invest in the construction of a new port terminal, scheduled to to come into operation by 2020.
As part of the agreement, Carnival Corporation will be granted berthing preference, enabling the company to optimise its cruise itineraries visiting the port.
The partnership supports the Japanese government’s initiatives to develop the country’s ports by 2020, in advance of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Of the public-private partnerships that have emerged, Carnival Corporation has the most number of committed ports.
According to a Carnival statement, Japan’s ports have witnessed exponential growth in visitors over the past few years. The growing popularity of cruising in Asia is expected to introduce greater strain on Japan’s existing port infrastructure.
Carnival Corporation currently has the largest cruise presence in Japan, including over 870 calls in 45 ports in Japan, carrying an estimated 1.8 million cruise passengers in the market.
Meanwhile, one of Carnival Corporation’s cruise brands, Princess Cruises recently unveiled a North Asia itinerary on Majestic Princess, which will homeport at Keelung, Taipei (Taiwan) for the first time from the end of this month to July.
After ending her current Singapore homeport season on March 25, Majestic Princess will sail to Keelung, offering over 20 cruises visiting Japanese ports including Okinawa, Ishigaki, Nagasaki, Sakaiminato, Osaka, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Busan in South Korea. Three- to seven-night sailings are available.
