It has been confirmed that all cruises from China that were scheduled to arrive at Incheon Port this year have canceled their plans. Incheon City received a shabby report card for attracting cruise ships.
According to Incheon City and the Incheon Tourism Organization on the 26th, there were 24 cruise ships from China that were scheduled to enter Incheon Port Cruise Terminal this year, but all of them canceled their arrival.
Originally, Incheon City expected to enter Incheon Port this year, with a total of 39 cruise ships, including 24 from China, and 187,000 passengers and crew. This is three times the number of ships and about 15 times the number of people compared to last year’s 13 ships and 13,270 people.
However, as cruises from China passed through Incheon, this year’s attraction performance fell far short of expectations. It only accounts for about 38% of the spinal cord and about 15% of the population.
The Incheon Tourism Organization cited visa issues as the main reason for cruises from China passing through Incheon.
Chinese cruise passengers must obtain a visa to enter Incheon for tourism, etc., but they are reluctant to do so because it takes a lot of time. For this reason, they say they are looking for Jeju Island, where they can enter without a visa, instead of Incheon.
Another reason is that domestic inbound travel agencies that attract foreign tourists are reluctant to accept Chinese tourists. Due to China’s slowing growth, Chinese people’s spending power has decreased, and their tourism patterns have also shifted from groups to individuals. In fact, the tourism industry is in tears due to the aftermath of the ‘big hand’ disappearing.
An official from the Incheon Tourism Organization said, “It is true that all 24 cruise ships from China canceled their arrival at Incheon Port. The reason is that Chinese tourists have decreased their domestic shopping and a lot of time is wasted on visa issuance.”
Fifteen cruise ships, excluding those from China, are scheduled to enter Incheon Port normally.
First, the 66,084-ton Riviera will enter port at 4 p.m. on March 8 with 1,238 passengers and 800 crew members and depart the next day, March 9, at 6 p.m.
The largest cruise ship is the Spectrum of the Sea (169,379 tons). This cruise, with 5,622 passengers and 1,551 crew members, will arrive at port at 7 a.m. on May 7 and depart at 8 p.m. on the same day.
The last cruise ship scheduled to enter the port is the 78,309-ton Norwegian Preference (2,100 passengers and crew), which will enter Incheon Port at 7 a.m. on November 15 and depart at 7 p.m. on the same day.
Including these cruise ships, 28,613 people, including 19,394 passengers and 9,219 crew members, will board the 15 cruise ships scheduled to enter Incheon Port this year.
(Incheon = News 1)
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.