BEGINNING January 2013, mainland Chinese tour groups cruising to Taiwan via Hong Kong will be allowed to continue their journey (on the same vessel) to Japan and/or South Korea before returning to China.
The new policy was announced last month as an extension of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangment signed between the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, which aims to enhance bilateral integration of goods and services.
Costa Cruises senior marketing & PR manager, Eunice Lee, said: “Cruising has enjoyed an increase in attention in mainland China in recent years. However, compared to western markets, the number of cruise travellers (in mainland China) is still small. Mainland Chinese face many challenges when cruising to Asian countries, one of which is having to obtain a visa for each and every port of call.”
“The new policy has great potential in driving cruise tourism in this market. More mainland Chinese will be encouraged to go on cruises, where they will be able to travel to multiple destinations while enjoying the onboard experience. Cruise operators will also have more flexibility in creating different route options,” she added.
Kevin So, senior manager of cruise specialist Sightseers (Hong Kong), believes the policy will boost overall cruise arrivals to the SAR, and will mainly benefit cruise travel consultants in mainland China.
“The impact will only be confined to the mass market segment, as cruising is not yet mature in mainland China. Due to cultural differences, Hong Kong clients may also choose not to board vessels dominated by mainland Chinese passengers,” he said.
