The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong will have LNG bunkering available starting early next year.
“Worldwide Cruise Terminals (WCT) helped make this possible by extensive lobbying and conducting Hong Kong’s first quantitative risk assessment (QRA) for LNG bunkering in 2021,” said Jeff Bent, managing director of WCT, which runs the cruise terminal.
In addition, China’s recent policy change to allow visa-free entry for visitors arriving by cruise ship provides a good opportunity for growth, Bent said.
“More nearby visa-free ports in addition to Hong Kong will help add diversity and new destinations to itineraries in North Asia,” he continued.
Third Runway
Historically, the source market for the cruise industry in Hong Kong has been split, with 40 percent of guests sourced from the city; 30 percent from China and 30 percent coming from elsewhere.
“We hope overseas markets will get a lift when the Hong Kong International Airport’s third runway system comes into use at the end of this year. Before the pandemic, the airport was operating at maximum capacity and is expected to return to 100 percent of pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2024, so the expansion is coming just in time,” Bent said.
He is expecting somewhere between 60 to 70 calls at Kai Tak in 2025, while the smaller Ocean Terminal should see about 30 calls.
“Some lines are booking close in, so we don’t have an exact read yet,” Bent explained.
“The district around the cruise terminal will become more vibrant in the next few years,” he continued. “Long-planned nearby residential developments are now coming onstream, and a new stadium and concert venue will open early in 2025. Seaside promenades with bike trails and retail are gradually opening.”
Longer term, hotel plots near the terminal will be sold and developed near the end of the decade and the vision is to have the elevated light-rail system connect the terminal to the Hong Kong metro system by the early 2030s.
That will help the already strong public transportation connections to the terminal, which now include four double-decker bus routes.
One key route connects the terminal to the high-speed rail station using a hydrogen-powered bus.
Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Fall 2024
