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By Kim RahnStaff Reporter
Cruise tourism is providing a fresh business opportunity for the Korea tour industry. Considering the country is a peninsula, it is not surprising at all ― on the contrary it is surprising that cruises are only emerging here now.
Following the stereotyped image of a cruise ― parties, evening dress and luxurious halls ― Koreans used to think such tourism suitable only for high-class people. Also, most travel packages have been ``fly and cruise'' for Koreans: cruises leave ports in Europe, the Mediterranean Sea or the Caribbean, so Koreans need to fly to the countries first, making it harder for them to spend that much time and money.
However, more and more cruise companies are eyeing the Asian market, which has high potential along with Japan, Korea and China. Korea is also taking part in the move, as the cruise industry is expected to be one of the new growth engines of the nation's tourism industry.
Business in start
It is true that relatively affluent people enjoy cruises and spend more money than other types of tours. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said that the average annual income of about 46 percent of cruise tourists worldwide is some $75,000.
According to a cruise magazine Seatrade, there were roughly 15 million cruise passengers worldwide in 2006, and the figure has been growing by over 8 percent annually, with 18.8 million expected in 2010 and 25 million, in 2015.
In recent years, more and more foreign cruise ships have been traveling in Asia and visiting Korea, especially Busan.
During the first half of this year, 14 cruise ships carrying 27,412 passengers visited Busan while cruising in Asian regions. It is a sharp increase from eight ships carrying 4,468 passengers during the same period last year.
On Sept. 1, the 77,000-ton ``Sun Princess'' called at Busan. Some 1,100 passengers had a half-day trip at the southeastern port city, visiting such places as Jagalchi Fish Market. Busan was part of the ship's 75-day cruise to 32 ports in the Pacific area.
Royal Caribbean International, a leading cruise company, will operate a year-round cruise in Asia starting November 2009, with Busan being one of the homeports.
A homeport is where passengers embark and disembark, while a port of call is where they visit for a short time.
The company will use the 70,000-ton ``Legend of the Seas.'' The itinerary has yet to be decided, but Busan and Shanghai will be homeports for a China-Korea-Japan cruise program.
Royal Caribbean International operated a special program in April and May connecting the three nations. Among the total 2,500-passenger capacity on ``Rhapsody of the Sea'' for each trip, 400-450 places were reserved for Koreans who boarded at Busan.
``I'm pleased from the response of Koreans. Twenty percent of capacity was for Koreans, and all were sold out. The market potential here is larger and faster than we expected,'' Adam M. Goldstein, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, said when he visited Korea in July.
In July and August, PanStarLine operated a cruise between Busan and Doyama, Japan. The company also offers cruise programs in southern coastal cities in Korea.
Not only Busan but also Incheon, Jeju and Yeosu are trying to boost their cruise businesses. Officials from ResidenSea visited Incheon in July to inspect the port facility, immigration procedures, and tourist attractions of the city.
Potential and Obstacles
According to Ocean Shipping Consultants, the number of cruise tourists in Northeast Asia is expected to grow to 720,000 in 2010 and 1 million in 2015 from 440,000 in 2005. Another report by Korea Maritime Institute showed that about 300,000 Koreans are likely to seek cruise vacations in 2010.
The high booking rate for the ``Rhapsody of the Sea'' in spring proved the potential, said Lisa Yun, manager of Royal Caribbean International's office in Korea.
``We had thought we might not be able to fill the 400-450 quota allocated for Koreans, as the cruise is quite new to Koreans. But we recorded an almost 100 percent booking rate. For the regular operation of `Legend,' we'll increase the quota for Koreans,'' Yun said.
Besides the homeport of Busan, foreign tourists on the Rhapsody showed great interest in Jeju, one of the ports of call, she said.
Despite the potential demand from both Koreans and foreigners, the cruise business here leaves much room for improvement, in terms of both hardware and software.
First, a cruise port in Yeongdo, Busan, is the nation's only port that can admit cruise ships over 80,000 tons. ``Wharfs and terminals exclusively for cruises are essential for the development of the industry. With such facilities, Busan and other ports can be homeports, to which foreigners fly, stay one night, and depart on cruise ships,'' Joung Jin-su, Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) director for tourism product development team, said.
Currently, most cruise ships stay at Korean ports for about a half a day as ports of call. ``Ports need to be developed into homeports in order to settle Korea's image as a strong country for the cruise,'' he said.
For software, Joung stressed the importance of expanding onboard promotion that can introduce Korea to passengers before their arrival.
In the case of the ``Sapphire Princess,'' which visited Busan three times in late 2006, about 65 percent of the passengers disembarked to tour the city while the rest remained aboard during the first two calls. At the third call, however, nearly 90 percent disembarked, as the port authorities presented a traditional dance performance aboard the ship before it arrived in Busan.
It is also important to develop tourist attractions in the ports, Joung said. ``Busan lacks hot attractions. As ships usually stay for eight hours, it is not easy for passengers to travel further inland. Jeju has many attractions, but does not have a cruise port for large ships.''
To improve insufficient factors in cruise business, KTO is conducting a survey on cruise passengers. ``The Sea Trade Fair, which is held in Miami every March, will be held in Shanghai in October, the first time for an Asian city to host the fair. Busan is also making efforts to host the event, which will be a chance to upgrade the city's image as a cruise port,'' Joung said.
[출처 : 코리아타임스]
