Facing the withdrawal of cruise lines, the terminal site should also be changed

The new crown epidemic has swept the world, and the local cruise tourism industry has been hit hard. The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal has been left empty for a long time, but since the terminal is located in a prime location in the urban area, it should be better used.

The government should add uses to the 7.6-hectare wharf site in the short and long term, and make good use of the idle space.

The Omicron variant virus is rampant, and medical experts estimate that it will take a month or two to control the new crown epidemic.

The two-year epidemic has punctured the travel plans of countless Hong Kong people, and has also frozen the entire tourism industry. The policy of dynamic reset will inevitably delay the resumption of the tourism industry.

"Hong Kong 01" recently quoted news that some cruise companies plan to transfer cruise ships in Hong Kong to Singapore, which means that they will not wait for the government to restart high seas travel.

The recovery of cruise tourism is indefinite, and only restaurants are open at the cruise terminal.

Since its development, the benefits are limited. It is advisable to take the sports city to increase the tourist spots.

The government's intention to build a cruise terminal is to develop cruise tourism and become a cruise center in the Asia-Pacific region.

This backfired. Since the terminal was opened in 2013, the utilization rate has been low, and the tourists and income it has brought have not met expectations.

According to the information from the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the International Cruise Lines Association, cruise ships call less frequently in Hong Kong than in Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei, and local and short-haul passengers are also more numerous than long-haul passengers.

Some tourism industry scholars have explained that cruise tours in Hong Kong tend to attract tourists at low prices, so they have failed to create significant economic contributions.

In addition, the typhoon season will hinder cruise services, and the inconvenience of connecting transportation will reduce the attractiveness of local people to visit the pier, patronize businesses or hold events.

Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (file photo)

People from all walks of life often complain about the lack of land in Hong Kong. Perhaps at a time when the cruise tourism industry may have to wait for a year or two to fully recover, the cruise terminal just provides an opportunity to make good use of the waterfront land in downtown Kowloon.

In the short term, the government can consider negotiating with the consortium that leases the terminal management, and combine some of the commercial locations with the government to manage outdoor park facilities, turning them into flea markets, or sub-leasing them to galleries or civil organizations as offices.

Hands ready for a long recovery

In the medium and long term, the cruise terminal also needs to add some functions to gather local people. For example, a representative of the tourism industry proposed to allocate the terminal space to form a comprehensive entertainment and sports center with the Kai Tak Sports Park.

In addition, the government and tourism departments can also invite famous domestic and foreign animation products to set up theme parks here, attracting tourists of different age groups and cruise passengers.

Each exhibition period can last for about two years, which can not only maintain the freshness of the site but also increase the flexibility of the site.

There are many opinions that the priority for the pier to be prosperous is to solve the traffic problem. However, there are already buses, minibuses and short-distance boats picking up passengers. On the contrary, the number of passengers is too small and the number of flights is sparse. New activities at the pier can promote transportation services.

On January 5, 2022, due to the close contacts of the confirmed cases who boarded the "Spectrum of the Seas" cruise ship to participate in the high seas cruise, the cruise ship returned early at the request of the Center for Health Protection.

(Photo by Yu Junliang)

Hong Kong strictly adheres to the epidemic prevention strategy of preventing foreign imports. The current tourism industry is in a passive situation. Even if it recovers in the next two years, cruise tourism may not catch up or exceed the pre-epidemic level in a short period of time.

Now that society is keen on the use of land space, more uses can be injected into the indoor and outdoor areas of the cruise terminal.

Of course, if Hong Kong is to strive to become a regional tourism center, cruise tourism must not be absent. The Hong Kong government still has to plan in a timely manner to seek the return of cruise routes that have withdrawn from Hong Kong, and even attract tourists from all walks of life to participate in the multi-stop multi-stop and open foreign tourists to the industry. Visa-free travel to cities in the Greater Bay Area for several days.

The development of culture, sports and tourism should not only be a matter of establishing a new bureau to promote competition, but to cooperate with industry regulation and the 20-year plan of "water taxi" should not be limited to tourism