HK welcomes 3.3m visitors in Sep while cruise comeback gains momentum
發佈日期: 2025-10-15 19:54
TVB News
Hong Kong received nearly 3.3 million visitors last month, marking an 8-percent rise year-on-year.
Setting sail too is the city's cruise economy.
This as an international cruise line, which was the first among its peers to return its docking in Hong Kong post-pandemic, is expanding its operations in the city -- while aiming to win over a new generation of cruisers.
Making waves -- and feeling the rush of "free-falling" onboard the 168,000-tonne cruise ship that sets sail across Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and more.
In 2024 after the COVID pandemic, the international cruise line behind the fleet was the first to chart a course from Hong Kong as the homeport of the company's Spectrum of the Seas.
Now, it's aiming to woo not just mature cruise crowds but also younger demographics.
Steering the initiative is the cruise line's Kevin Fung.
He says their "cruises to nowhere," which are 3-day-and-2-night weekend getaway that doesn't stop at any "intermediate ports of call," see 85 percent of the participants as first-time cruisers.
KEVIN FUNG, Managing Director, Royal Caribbean International, Hong Kong: "We see an increasing trend of younger cruisers realising the many things, that you can do on board, hassle-free travel. They don't need to take any leave off work. And they can just come on, spend a weekend, get a taste of what international cruising is."
To tap the Greater Bay Area market, the operator has launched a three-month partnership with China Rail offering cruise promotions for high-speed train passengers.
The company also says connectivity around the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal has improved.
The government and even the Hong Kong Tourism Board, they've been very supportive into ensuring that the guest experience from the bus arrangements to appreciating the Victoria Harbour, and there were plenty of taxis also at the terminal.
The company notes each disembarking cruise passenger spends an estimated 3,000 Hong Kong dollars a day in the city, and their docking also buoys Hong Kong's catering, logistics and port services' income.
The company's cruise operations in Hong Kong are back in full swing. After returning in late 2024 with seven sailings, the operator has doubled its schedule this year, launching 12 round trip journeys from November to January.
Meanwhile, the city's tourism recovery is picking up pace, as the city welcomed nearly 3.3 million visitors in September -- an 8-percent surge year-on-year.
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, for the first nine months of 2025, more than 36.5 million travellers visited Hong Kong.
Mainland visitors make up over 70 percent of the total, marking a double-digit increase from last year.
