China supports cruise tourism from HK Port

Beijing (CNS) – The Chinese national tourism bureau will support a cruise that uses Hong Kong Port as its home port by, among other things, funding personnel training and the exploration of new orientations for tourism on the mainland market, according to its source on February 27.

Hong Kong's cruise tourism industry started early and has reached a relatively mature state, with advantages in infrastructure, operation and management, said the source. As of 2013, a new cruise terminal will be built in Hong Kong which will further accelerate the development of cruise tourism.

The source said more and more tourists from the mainland are choosing cruise ship travel, and the mainland market still has great destinations to be explored.

Related statistics show that in 2010, 790,000 mainland tourists took cruises abroad, 20.1 percent up over the 2009 figure. Conversely, international cruises brought 462,000 foreign tourists to China, 15.5 percent up over the 2009 number.