17 international cruises visit Hong Kong in March

The Tourism Commission and the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) strived to attract vessels from various international cruise lines to call in or be home-ported in Hong Kong. A total of 17 international cruises are scheduled to visit Hong Kong in March. Four international cruises docked at the same time at the two cruise terminals in Hong Kong today (9 Mar), bringing about 5,400 visitors from 31 countries or regions to the city. Visitors are participating in local tours with unique Hong Kong characteristics, visiting the Kowloon City for Hong Kongstyle egg tarts and Kai Tak Sports Park, and learning about the historical heritage and local culture of Kowloon Walled City. Hong Kong’s cruise tourism warms up in Spring with four cruise ships in town at the same time Celebrity Millenium of Celebrity Cruises, Costa Serena of Costa Cruises, Silver Whisper of Silversea Cruises, and Seabourn Encore of Seabourn Cruises arrived in Hong Kong yesterday and today (8 & 9 March) respectively, docking at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and the Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. The four cruises have brought to Hong Kong a total of 5,400 passengers from 31 countries and regions, including the Mainland, the US, Australia, the UK, Germany, Canada, the Philippines, Japan and Singapore (See Appendix I for details).

Cruise visitors explore the past and present of Kowloon City to gain a deeper understanding of Hong Kong’s history and culture In addition to shore excursions to traditional tourist hotspots, such as the Peak and Tsim Sha Tsui, a group of cruise visitors added a city walk in Kowloon City to their on-shore itinerary to immerse themselves in authentic Hong Kong culture and heritage on a journey through neighbourhood’s past and present. During the local tour, the cruise visitors visited Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong’s largest, state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex, followed by the visit of “Live out the Cinematic Charm of Hong Kong – Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In Exhibition” organised by HKTB in the AIRSIDE shopping mall. They enjoyed a lifelike experience of the blockbuster movie and learned about the history of the Walled City. The group then checked out historical relics from the Walled City in Kowloon Walled City Park and enjoyed Hong Kong-style egg tarts, local delicacy which is crispy and rich in flavour. The visitors also visited the Chilin Nunnery, a Buddhist sanctuary, which has replicated traditional aesthetics of the Tang Dynasty, and Nan Lian Garden, a classical Chinese garden, to learn more about the city’s traditional religious culture amidst the vibrant urban surroundings. More exciting moments for cruise visitors exploring Kowloon City can be found in Appendix II.

Helen Sleiman, a local tour first-time participant from the UK, said she was impressed by the many high-rise buildings in Hong Kong. She saw a more realistic side of Hong Kong’s neighbourhoods on her visit to Kowloon City and could imagine what it was like in the old days. She also gained a better understanding of the city and looks forward to coming back to Hong Kong in the future and spending more time sightseeing. She praised the delicious Hong Kong-style egg tarts and said she enjoyed the scenery but had never seen the skyline, so she would take the time to visit the Peak during her stay in Hong Kong to enjoy the view of the Victoria Harbour. Argentinian visitor Tomas Ride (first from left) and Belen Paz (second from left), as well as Oliver Murray John (first from right) from Scotland and Maxence Lefevre (second from right) from France, also shared their feelings about their first visit to Hong Kong.

They felt that the local tour helped them to learn more about Hong Kong’s history and culture, and described the movie exhibition as a good place for photos, as they felt like they were in Hong Kong in the 70s and 80s, and the stories of the movie were very exciting. More large international cruise ships to make debut visits to Hong Kong next week Testifying to Hong Kong’s appeal as a cruise tourism hub in the region HKTB also announced that three large international cruise ships will call at from 18 to 19 March, including Queen Anne of Cunard Line and Norwegian Sky of Norwegian Cruise Line, which will make their first visit to Hong Kong. Queen Elizabeth, a member of Cunard Line, will also return to Hong Kong. Each cruise ship has a capacity of over 2,000 passengers, with Cunard Line choosing Hong Kong as the destination for Queen Anne’s world cruise gala dinner, with more than 1,000 travellers attending a gala dinner hosted by the cruise line at a local hotel, further strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a cruise hub in Asia.

HKTB will continue to promote Hong Kong’s cruise tourism and maintain close liaison with Mainland and international cruise companies to attract ship calls from their fleets to Hong Kong and bring more visitors to Hong Kong. HKTB will also encourage the travel trade to provide cruise travellers with more diversified on-shore travel experiences to showcase our unique tourism appeal.