Close
Download PDF
While the cruise travel experience is directly shaped by the offerings and facilities on the cruise liners and on land, many behind-the-scenes efforts are required to make this happen, including support from tourism bureaux. Here is a look at our major initiatives in 2014/15 that supported the cruise lines and other industry players to enrich the cruise experience.
In early 2014, the HKTB and Taiwan Tourism Bureau founded the world’s first Asia Cruise Fund. The purpose of the initiative is to promote co-operation among regional ports, and to pool the resources of the partnering ports to provide support for marketing and product development for cruise lines, thereby increasing their incentive to deploy their vessels in the region. Two other partners, Hainan and the Philippines, announced that they were joining the strategic alliance at Cruise Shipping Asia-Pacific, which took place in Hong Kong in November 2014.
To better understand the needs and preferences of potential cruise travellers, as well as opportunities for cruise itinerary development in Asia, we conducted two studies on cruise travel in 2014, which were the first of their kind. The Greater China Cruise Potential and Passenger Behaviour Study specifically examined the potential offered by Greater China and the characteristics of potential cruise travellers in the market. The Asia Cruise Port Development Study examined the future development of ports in Hong Kong and various other parts of Asia, from Korea to Vietnam. Both studies offer invaluable insights for industry stakeholders, particularly cruise lines and port authorities, for forward planning to take advantage of the unprecedented opportunity in the Asian cruise industry. The findings were released at the opening of Cruise Shipping Miami, the biggest industry event in the world.
