HK cruise operators hit choppy seas as mainland peers move to catch up
The sight of thousands of passengers embarking on a five-night trip aboard the spectacular cruise ship Genting Dream from Guangzhou’s Nansha port to Vietnam has surely rattled Hong Kong’s cruise industry, as well as its already embattled tourism sector.
The trip that began on Nov 13 marked the ship’s debut in Nansha, which Guangzhou also counts as its home port. On the same day, Shenzhen’s newly-opened Shekou Prince Bay Cruise Home Port welcomed its first group of guests aboard the SuperStar Virgo, also heading to Vietnam.
T he two ne w launches underlined the excitement of Chinese mainland travelers who are showing growing interest in cruise travel. However, Hong Kong operators are alarmed that the rapid emergence of the cruise industry in the two neighboring cities threatens to undermine its position in the Pearl River Delta region, as competition in the business intensifies. This is even more urgent at a time when the city is in the midst of a tourism rut, with visitor numbers from the Chinese mainland in rapid decline.
With natural geographical and climatic advantages, and propelled by the rapid growth of the mainland ’s middle class, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are investing heavily to develop its cruise industry.
I n M a y t h i s y e a r, t h e Guangdong provincial government issued guidelines for turning Shenzhen’s Shekou Prince Bay Cruise Home Port into a national cruise tourism development pilot zone.
Guangzhou is c urrently building the Nansha International Cruise Home Port, which is expected to open in 2019. Capable of accommodating 100,000-ton and 225,000 -ton cruise ships, the port is projected to host 750,000 passengers per year.
Xu Manping, head of the School of Ship Engineering at Guangzhou Maritime University, said the city held an edge in the cruise industry.
“Development of the cruise industry in an area depends on a number of factors, such as its climate and hinterland, which ensures a tourist base,” he said.
“But at the same time, sound facilities in ship manufacturing, maintenance and a developed transportation network are also essential for its development to ensure smooth operation of the whole business in the area. In this sense, Guangzhou has an edge.”
G u a n g d o n g ’s p r o v i n - cial capital has become the mainland’s third-largest city in the cruise business after Shanghai and Tianjin since it began providing cruise travel services earlier this year, with the number of its passengers exceeding 290,000 in the first 10 months.
This is in stark contrast to Hong Kong, which is grappling with the challenge of declining mainland tourist arrivals. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), close to 32 million mainland tourists visited Hong Kong between January and September this year — down 8.7 percent from the same period last year.
Experts have predicted that the expected launch of more cruise lines in Shenzhen and Guangzhou will divert more mainland travelers away from the SAR as they no longer have to travel to the city for a cruise trip.
A study of cruise trends by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) found that Asia’s cruise industry has been growing rapidly, with the number of ocean cruise passengers hitting 2.08 million last year — a 24-percent year-on-year increase.
The growth has been particularly robust on the mainland. Last year, some 986,000 mainland passengers went on cruise trips — up 40 percent from 2014 and making up nearly half of Asia’s total volume, according to the study. For the past two years, China has been the world’s fastest growing market for the cruise business.
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregor y So Kam-leung said cruise tourism has grown popular in A s i a i n r e c e n t y e a r s . He pledged that the SAR government will work with the cruise industry to introduce various measures to lure more tourists to make cruise trips from the city.
Expanding cooperation with mainland travel agencies is also another strategy Hong Kong has adopted.
At the Guangdong International Tourism Industry Expo held in Guangzhou in September, HKTB partnered with Guangzhou-based agency GZL International Travel and online travel platform LY.com to endorse cruise travel products with promotional prices.
However, not all mainland travelers are keen to abandon Hong Kong in favor of embarking on a journey from their home base.
“For me, a cruise trip is not all about traveling and sight-
“Sound facilities in ship manufacturing, maintenance and a developed transportation network are also essential for its development to ensure smooth operation of the whole business in the area. In this sense, Guangzhou has an edge.” “Newcomers to the cruise sector should not be seen as a threat; instead, they could further stimulate market demand, creating a win-win situation.”
South China region senior manager of Hong Kong Tourism Board
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increase in the number of ocean cruise passengers in Asia in 2015 from a year ago
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surge in the number of Chinese mainland ocean cruise passengers in 2015 from a year ago
seeing. It also includes entertainment,” said Shenzhen resident Chen Linjun, 30. “Hong Kong can provide a perfect experience as travelers can also visit Disneyland or go shopping through their entire trip.”
Yu Lan, HKTB’s South China region senior manager, said newcomers to the cruise sector should not be seen as a threat; instead, they could fur ther stimulate marke t demand, creating a win-win situation.
The opening of cruise lines in Hong Kong’s surrounding cities will help expand the cruise market, she said, and Hong Kong and the mainland could work together to serve more tourists.