Standing on a chilly winter morning, Wang Wei-de, a Taiwanese cruise passenger, is looking for brunch with local flavour with his family at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.
“It feels deserted here. I didn’t expect the restaurants won’t open until 11:30 am,” said Wang, whose Cruise ship arrived at 7:30 am on Jan. 22.
Upon arriving in Hong Kong for the first time, Wang was disappointed by the transporting and ancillary facilities at KTCT.
“It would take too much time on the way to MTR if we’re going downtown,” said Wang, who decided not to head downtown because of time limitations, “shuttle bus is only free for one way, and other alternatives are expensive.”
With HK $950 spent on one meal and local cookies in the terminal, Wang and his family ended up hanging in stores inside the terminal with no consumption.
KTCT was often complained about by tourists for the lack of supporting transportation facilities, and many businesses have also closed down due to a lack of business.
The government has responded positively to the problem by increasing the number of free shuttle bus routes and distributing $50 liquefied petroleum gas coupons to taxis, which saw an improvement.
However, taxi drivers soon complained about the insufficient passengers and attributed the problem to poor government coordination and communication.
The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, completed in 2013 at the cost of about $8.1 billion, carries the Hong Kong government's aspiration to become an Asian cruise hub.
On Dec. 30, 2024, an action plan for the development of cruise tourism was released by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, reflecting the government's commitment to using the terminal as a venue for conventions and exhibitions, as well as cultural, creative, and community leisure activities, to make full use of the facilities after almost three years of closure due to the pandemic.
According to the CSTB, Hong Kong's overall cruise capacity for 2025 has yet to return to pre-epidemic levels, having decreased from 15.1% of the world’s cruise capacity in 2018 to 8.9% in 2024.
In 2024, 30 cruise lines were scheduled to visit Hong Kong, up from 18 in 2023, according to Kevin Yeung, former Secretary of CSTB, while Singapore, one of Hong Kong’s major competitors in the cruise tourism sector, saw 347 cruise calls in 2023 with a passenger throughput of 2,037,172.
Responding to our enquiry about Hong Kong lagging behind Singapore, a CSTB spokesperson admitted that Hong Kong faces recovery challenges as one of the last Asian ports to fully resume international cruise travel. The spokesperson explained that regions which reopened earlier for cruise tourism gained a ‘first-mover advantage’ and have ‘seen strong performance in terms of both occupancy and yield’.
As of April 20, Feb. 1 2025, 40 cruise voyages have been scheduled for three months till May 31 at KTCT, while Singapore will host 93 cruise ships during the same period.
“Singapore, not as a cruise centre, but as a port operation, has been around for a long time,” said Kevin Cheong, adjunct faculty at Singapore Management University and the University of Newcastle.
Strategically located in “Marina Bay”, the “new downtown” of the southern harbour of Singapore, Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS) opened in 2012 to “attract more cruise lines to deploy”.
“With sustainable governance and society, wise location, and geographical advantage, Singapore could maintain a long-term corporation with cruise companies,” said Cheong.
Wang, the Taiwanese cruise tourist, expressed high satisfaction with MBCCS after arriving in Singapore from Hong Kong on Jan. 30.
“The whole clearance process is very smooth,” said Wang, who took his family as a group for electronic customs clearance. Previously, Wang’s family has to go through the costumes one by one in Kai Tak’s terminal.
Token-less clearance, newly adopted by MBCCS on Dec.12, 2024, allows foreign travellers to clear immigration using facial and iris biometrics without passports to promote fast and efficient travel.
According to Wang, two cruise ships docked at the same time when he disembarked, but the cruise centre diverted the traffic well and did not cause any congestion.
“Although it takes some time to walk to the subway, there are other alternative ways, such as taxis and shuttle buses with clear signs,” said Wang.
According to Cheong, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore vowed a long-term plan for this terminal and offshore area, facilitating the deployment of multiple supporting transportation facilities.
In Singapore, navigating from the cruise terminal to the nearest MRT station takes an 11-minute walk according to Apple Maps. In comparison, in Hong Kong, it takes 45 minutes to walk from Kai Tak Cruise Terminal to Kai Tak MTR.
Such a contrast remained in the willingness of taxi drivers to pick up passengers from the Cruise terminal, echoing previous criticism of KTCT due to the long taxi waiting time.
Paul Tse, Legislative Council Member in the Tourism functional constituency, raised a written question in October 2014 on how to address the issue of visitors conducting themselves at the taxi stands.
Looking forward, Cheong thinks more time is needed for Hong Kong to attract cruise lines, “The cruise schedule is a perennial process with two to three years of planning,” he said.
Based on the long-term characteristic of cruise business, Jeff Bent, the managing director of Transamerica Cruise Terminal, the current operator of KTCT till 2028, told Ta Kung Pao that, it is reasonable for the government to invite tenders for the terminal operater in 2025 and hoped the result will come out by the end of this year, otherwise cruise line company would be uncertain about whom to communicate with.
To improve land transport efficiency, the Central Kowloon Route, a highway project connecting the Kai Tak development area and the Yau Ma Tei interchange in West Kowloon, is expected to be completed by this year, according to the 2025 Budget Speech.
To shorten the transport time from the Cruise to the MTR Kai Tak Station, a long-term plan for the Smart and Green Mass Transit System project, a transportation system using energy-efficient technologies to reduce energy consumption and achieve efficient mobility, will invite tenders in 2025, with a work contract awarded in 2026.
To keep pace with the visa-free entry policy for foreign tourist groups announced by the Mainland government, the CSTB Spokesperson said Hong Kong will “seize the opportunities” brought by new policies in Mainland China.
The official explained that Hong Kong will benefit from new policies, under the newly revised CEPA agreement, starting from March, which will facilitate transit travel of Mainland visitors to Hong Kong to join international cruise itineraries involving port calls at Mainland cruise ports.
CSTB will collaborate with the Hong Kong Tourism Board to attract more cruise lines to launch itineraries covering both Hong Kong and Mainland ports.
《The Young Reporter》
The Young Reporter (TYR) started as a newspaper in 1969. Today, it is published across multiple media platforms and updated constantly to bring the latest news and analyses to its readers.
Humanoid robots shines at InnoEX
Largest Tin Hau Festival in Hong Kong Celebrated in Yuen Long
Comments