Premier Lin Chuan said today that Taiwan should take advantage of the growing Asian cruise market by developing specific policies to develop the cruise industry into a cornerstone of the domestic tourism sector.
In remarks after a briefing by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC), the premier said that the cruise industry can grow by leveraging the unique characteristics of domestic cities, and teaming up with international cruise operators to attract "fly-cruise" travelers who fly to Taiwan, take a round-trip cruise, and then fly back to their home countries. He then directed the MOTC to formulate the relevant plans to boost cruise industry revenues.
According to the Cruise Lines International Association, in 2017 the overall cruise market will grow by 5.42 percent year-on-year from 24 million to 25.3 million passengers, with Asia's market share increasing from 13.5 percent to 14.2 percent. Taiwan's gross domestic product growth rate is also forecast to increase from 1.29 percent in 2016 to 1.87 percent in 2017, which should stimulate spending on cruise travel.
With two home ports for cruise liners in Keelung and Kaohsiung, and thanks to the Tourism Bureau's overseas promotion efforts over the years, the ratio of domestic to foreign fly-cruise passengers will change from 8:2 to 5:5. That will generate more spending by fly-cruise travelers during their stay in Taiwan, so both ports should see great development potential and business opportunities, the MOTC said.
In 2017, the production value of the domestic cruise industry was about NT$4 billion (US$126.02 million) in 2016, which is estimated to grow to NT$5 billion (US$157.53 million), with the number of passengers and cruise ships transiting through Keelung and Kaohsiung expected to increase 30 percent to over 1 million and 600, respectively. Revenues from cruise supplies are also projected to increase significantly, spurring local procurement, with purchasing by Star Cruises set to rise from NT$100 million (US$3.15 million) in 2016 to NT$200 million (US$6.30 million) in 2017, and Princess Cruises procurement to reach NT$100 million this year.