Qingdao Boosts Cruise Trade and Infrastructure
Qingdao, in East China’s Shandong province, plans to boost its cruise trade to host 400 cruise ships per year.
A plan for making the city a pilot for national cruise line tourism development was recently released by the Qingdao municipal government, reports China Daily.
According to the plan, the government will intensify its support of the regional cruise industry and accelerate expansion of Qingdao’s international home port facilities.
.jpg)
Qingdao is already a major international port city and tourist destination in northern China.
The city is already training specialized cruise business personnel and incubating enterprises to improve service to the cruise economy. It is also running marketing campaigns locally and overseas.
The tourism boost is expected to further the development of the regional cruise industry and deepen international cooperation with Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
China’s cruise market expanded significantly in 2016 with year-on-year growth of more than 40 percent. Overseas arrivals and departure exceeded four million passengers, and this number is expected to increase to 10 million in 2020.