Hong Kong prepares to regain its status as Asia's top cruise port after three years of pandemic with a shipping ban and restrictions related to COVID-19. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Authority, there are currently about 160 confirmed visits to Hong Kong by ships from 16 cruise operators.
Cruises in Hong Kong have been plagued with problems for the past three years, including the incident with the Spectrum of the Seas due to concerns about COVID-19 on board. However, today all indications are that the cruise industry is making a comeback to the city.
This rapid change of scenery is due to the port's longstanding relationship with cruise companies. For example, Silversea Cruises opened the cruise season with the return of Silver Spirit to Hong Kong in mid-January.
In addition to Silversea, cruise ships and other operators will visit Hong Kong in 2023. These include Mein Schiff, Viking, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara, Holland America Line and Windstar.
Hong Kong is conveniently located in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area of 86 million people and connected to the rest of the region the longest Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau sea bridge in the world.
This link allows cruise lines to significantly diversify their services to attract a wider range of customers, including in the vast mainland market.
< p>Even before the pandemic hit, experts predicted that China's cruise business would surpass the rest of the world in size.
China was the world's second largest cruise market in 2019, with an expected influx of 5 million cruise passengers . China's huge population, growing middle class and rising incomes are creating huge opportunities for the cruise industry.
Now that Hong Kong is back on the rise, it can capitalize on the huge potential of the Chinese cruise industry and attract tens of millions of tourists from all over the world.