Taiwan, Hong Kong to partner on cruise travel initiative

Star Cruises’ 75,000-tonne SuperStar Virgo cruiseliner will be based out of Hong Kong from April with 31 of its planned 55 itineraries set to visit the ports of Kaohsiung, Taichung and Keelung in Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of Star Cruises)

Tourism authorities from Taiwan and Hong Kong announced a joint program Thursday that will promote cruise travel in the rapidly expanding Asia market.

Through the world’s first-ever Asia Cruise Fund, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau and the Hong Kong Tourism Board are hoping to develop cruise tourism in the region, bureau deputy head Wayne Liu said during the Cruise Shipping Miami 2014 trade show, where the partnership was announced.

Initiated by both sides, the fund collected from participating ports in Asia will be used to subsidize market promotion for cruise liners plying the region, Liu said.

“Taiwan and Hong Kong will invite more Asian countries and territories to take part in the project to improve our market competitiveness in the region,” Liu said.

The fund, which will take effect April 1 for a three-year period, requires that cruise companies make stops in at least two participating ports or territories in a single itinerary in order to get the subsidy.

In 2013, seaports around Taiwan served 992,000 passengers, a rise of 41.8% from the previous year, according to statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.

The high growth was partly attributed to a 45.4% increase in the number of cruise travelers visiting Taiwanese ports, which totaled 390,000 last year, it said.