2023 Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific: Charting a new course for Asian cruise tourism – TravelDailyNews Asia
Asia’s premier cruise conference returns to Hong Kong, uniting global industry leaders to explore post-pandemic trends and partnership opportunities.
Asia’s largest cruise industry conference, the 2023 Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific, is being held for the first time after the pandemic in Hong Kong for three days. About 300 global cruise industry leaders, including C-suite management from 20 international cruise lines, cruise port operators in the region, and representatives from various tourism marketing organisations, are participating in various thematic conferences and seminars to explore the developing trends in the cruise sector in Asia, the potential of cruise tourism in the Greater Bay Area, and regional partnership opportunities.
In the opening ceremony, Mr Kevin Yeung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “Hong Kong is one of the most photogenic ports for cruise travel. Thanks to the support of cruise lines, our ship calls is back to the pre-pandemic level. Enhancing Hong Kong’s attractiveness as a cruise destination will continue to be a major part in our tourism strategy, and we firmly believe that cruise lines’ deployment in Asia can become a greater success when there is a strong partnership of ports in the region.”
Dr Pang Yiu-kai, Chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), said, “The 2023 Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific is held in Hong Kong with the support of the HKTB. This not only testifies Hong Kong’s role as Asia’s cruise hub, but also signifies that the global cruise industry is warmly positive about the city’s upcoming development in cruise tourism. I am confident that Hong Kong’s unique edge will continue to attract Mainland visitors to embark on their cruise journey in Hong Kong while enriching the diverse experiences available to cruise travellers worldwide.”
Mr Andrew Williams, President of Maritime Group of Informa Markets, organiser of the conference, said, “Hong Kong is one of Asia’s main cruise hubs and a world-class tourist destination, boasting unique arts and culture, stunning natural landscapes, and international mega-events. It also benefits from a well-connected transportation network linking the mainland and global cities, which helps attract cruise passengers from all over the world to embark on their cruise journeys in Hong Kong and enjoy diversified experiences. We believe that choosing Hong Kong as the host city for the 2023 Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific will undoubtedly create more business opportunities for the cruise industry.”
Inviting Industry Leaders to Experience Hong Kong’s Wine & Dine Offers
The event coincided with the HKTB’s flagship event, the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, which is opening in Central Harbourfront Event Space. The HKTB invites the trade partners attending Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific to participate in the Festival for first-hand experiences of the wine and dining offerings from Hong Kong, the Mainland and the world and the city’s exuberant night-time vibes. The HKTB also designed various familiarisation itineraries of different themes for the industry leaders to personally experience the allure of Hong Kong as a diverse cruise tourism destination and promote them to travellers worldwide afterwards.
Cruise Tourism Steadily Recovering
According to the latest figures, 24 cruise lines have already confirmed 135 ship calls to Hong Kong in the coming six months (November 2023 – April 2024), comparable to the pre-pandemic level of the same period of 2018 and 2019.
Student at the Department of Business Administration of the Athens University of Economics and Business.
