Why is the cruise economy heating up here?
2024-09-10
Why is the cruise economy heating up here? - A survey from Baoshan District, Shanghai. Since the beginning of this year, the rapid recovery of global cruise tourism and the Chinese tourism market has driven the continuous warming of the cruise economy. In recent years, China's cruise industry has developed rapidly and has become the second largest cruise market in the world. As the forefront of exploring the development of the cruise industry in China, Baoshan District in Shanghai continues to leverage its geographical advantages to make efforts in cruise research and development, cruise operation, port services, and other aspects, promoting the growth and development of the entire cruise economy industry chain. Cruise ships are tourism carriers with a guiding significance in the international market, and the cruise industry is also known as the "golden industry floating on the golden waterway", which has a positive significance in promoting the benign interaction of domestic and international dual circulation. After more than 10 years of development, China's cruise economy has shown great vitality. Shanghai, located by the sea, has always been at the forefront of China's exploration of the development of the cruise industry. Baoshan District in Shanghai, as the first "China Cruise Tourism Development Demonstration Zone", is also regarded as a "model student" of the cruise industry, continuously leading the high-quality development of the cruise economy. In 2022, Shanghai issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of North South Transformation", which clearly stated that Baoshan District should take the construction of a demonstration zone for cruise tourism development as the guide, and build a Shanghai International Cruise Tourism Resort with high standards and global influence to expand the cruise economy industry chain. At the beginning of this year, with the maiden voyage of the first domestically produced large cruise ship "Aida Modu" at the Wusongkou International Cruise Port in Shanghai, Baoshan District ushered in a new starting point for high-quality development of the cruise economy. Li Chenhao, Secretary of the Baoshan District Committee of Shanghai, said, "Currently, Baoshan District is facing important development opportunities. We need to accelerate the construction of Baoshan's' one place, two districts', deepen the integration of 'business, tourism, cultural and sports exhibitions', and improve the quality and efficiency of related industries, and build an international cruise tourism resort with international cruise characteristics and maritime gateway identity. Why can the cruise industry in Baoshan District, Shanghai develop rapidly? What are the benefits for regional economic development? What challenges are we facing again? Shaping the industrial ecology: Shanghai is born from the port and prospers towards the sea. Traveling north along the Huangpu River will lead to the Wusongkou International Cruise Port located in Baoshan District. The shimmering coastal space came into view, and the sound of steam whistles could be heard from time to time. Customs, cruise companies, restaurants, hotels, and others gather here, accelerating the formation of the cruise industry ecosystem. In recent years, Baoshan District has seized its geographical advantages and taken multiple measures to promote the positive development of the cruise economy. In 2018, Baoshan District formulated the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Baoshan Cruise Economy", aiming to promote policy innovation in the cruise industry and create a billion yuan scale cruise industry cluster. At present, the cruise industry in Baoshan District is developing rapidly, and the integration of transportation and tourism economy has achieved positive results. Being a model student in the cruise industry cannot be achieved without Baoshan District's solid industrial foundation and the forging of related industrial chains. Jiang Ruiqin, Director of the Baoshan District Binjiang Development and Construction Management Committee, stated that Baoshan District is committed to building a cruise operation headquarters base with global resource allocation capabilities, enhancing the service level of Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Port, promoting the construction of Shanghai International Cruise Tourism Resort, improving consumers' cruise tourism experience, and leading the recovery of China's cruise industry. In 2023, the "Blue Dream Star" cruise ship will depart from Wusongkou International Cruise Port, taking the lead in achieving the pilot resumption of international cruise ships. In 2024, MSC Glory, a subsidiary of Mediterranean Cruise Line, and Ocean Spectrum, a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, will both commence home port operations. Since the beginning of this year, Wusongkou International Cruise Port has operated 58 cruise ships and received 471100 inbound and outbound passengers. At present, the Wusongkou International Cruise Port plans to accommodate about 200 cruise ships throughout 2024, accounting for more than 50% of the country's total, and receive 1.5 million inbound and outbound passengers, accounting for 70% of the country's total. Its operational capacity continues to improve. Accelerating the development of cruise economy requires the assistance of cultural and tourism industries. Baoshan District will deeply tap into the needs of tourists, accelerate the landing of the cruise tourism industry, focus on cruise enterprises, cruise tourists, cruise crew, and cruise culture, adhere to the integration of cultural and tourism resources across the region, stimulate consumption vitality, and promote the recovery of the cruise economy, "said Wang Weiyao, Deputy Director of the Resource Development Department of Baoshan District Culture and Tourism Bureau. Not only that, Baoshan District is stepping up the renovation and upgrading of the software and hardware facilities of Shanghai International Cruise Tourism Resort, promoting the integrated development of "business travel, cultural and sports exhibitions". At present, the Tu Yi Lan Hotel in the resort area has opened for operation. Family vacation apartments, star rated hotels, and diving surfing will open at the end of September. The Long Beach Music Hall will premiere during the National Day holiday, and the "Shanghai's Most Beautiful Leisure Cycling Coastline" will be completed and opened at the end of September, providing tourists with diversified leisure experiences. Telling the story of Baoshan well is a crucial step in promoting the upward development of the cruise tourism industry. In May of this year, Baoshan District Cultural and Tourism Bureau signed a memorandum of cooperation with its affiliated enterprise Huaxia International Cruise Co., Ltd. to promote the dissemination of cruise tourism culture, shape Chinese characteristic cruise products, guide and regulate the order of the cruise industry, enhance the cultural connotation and market influence of cruise tourism, and enable more people to understand, experience and share the ways of cruise tourism travel. A series of cultural and tourism activities such as port concerts and museum markets have been launched one after another, enhancing the sense of participation and experience of citizens and tourists, and driving the upgrading of all factor cultural and tourism consumption. In addition, Baoshan District Cultural and Tourism Bureau has invited 26 travel agencies from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai regions to conduct on-site inspections of cultural and tourism resources and jointly develop tourism route products that meet market demand. We will continue to introduce high-quality projects in cruise tourism, promote more unicorn enterprises, specialized and new enterprises to land in Baoshan, form a map of the cruise industry chain, and create a first-class main battlefield for cruise enterprises. In addition, major events such as forums and press conferences will be held to enhance the international influence of the cruise industry Lu Dinghua, head of the Planning Section of Shanghai Baoshan District Economic Commission, said. Baoshan District will continue to optimize the relevant products of service enterprises, increase the supply of industrial policies, make good use of industrial support policies and cruise tourism special policies, and form a policy superposition effect. We are exploring the establishment of a two-level financial service system in Baoshan District, carrying out relevant investment docking activities, serving key enterprises well, and continuously optimizing the business environment of the cruise industry, "said Lu Dinghua. Strengthening talent support to promote high-quality development of the cruise industry also requires seizing talent resources. The Baoshan District Talent Work Bureau, cruise companies, and cultural tourism groups in Shanghai are working together to create a symbiotic, endogenous, and inclusive innovation ecosystem, providing talent support for the development of the cruise industry. Being a model student for industrial development and enhancing the independent research and development capabilities of cruise ships is a necessary path. Relying on the independent design, construction, and operation of domestically produced large cruise ships, China's cruise economy has transformed from a "passing economy" to a full industry chain ecosystem covering cruise ship operation, design and construction, supporting supply chain, and other fields. The reporter learned that CSSC Cruise Technology Development Co., Ltd., established in 2018, has now achieved independent research and development and construction of cruise ships. Huang Xuezhong, Chief Strategy Expert of the Strategic Planning Department of the company, said, "We have established a cruise ship research and development technology system, strengthened core technology development, and led 38 domestic enterprises to participate in the company's scientific research projects. In terms of supporting supply, we have close cooperation with 361 strategic suppliers worldwide. Talents are the foundation for achieving independent research and development and manufacturing of cruise ships. At CSSC Cruises, design personnel make up 75% of the company's total workforce, covering multiple professional fields in cruise ship research and development design. Among them, the Detailed Design Center has introduced more than 20 Italian experts and formed a design team of nearly 80 people, mainly responsible for the detailed design work of the first domestically produced large cruise ship; The Ship Type Development Center gathers backbone technical talents in the field of ship equipment and undertakes the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's large-scale cruise ship innovation project. Through technology introduction, digestion and absorption, and further innovation, it carries out research and design of ship types with independent intellectual property rights, forming a spectrum of large, medium, and small ship types. Cruise design is an important part of the cruise industry ecosystem, often hailed as a "high-precision" and "giant system" project. There are many technical difficulties in large cruise ships, and weight and center of gravity control, vibration and noise, and safe return to port are the core technologies that run through the entire life cycle of cruise ships. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) actively carries out the construction of engineering general contracting capabilities around organizational structure innovation, mode innovation, and research and development innovation. At the same time, it establishes and improves the research and development innovation system, strengthens the construction of scientific and technological talent teams, and overcomes the core technical problems of "giant systems". Huang Xuezhong told reporters that currently, CSIC has formed the ability to independently design and construct large cruise ships and manage complex "giant system" engineering, breaking through structural design and weight and center of gravity control technology. The deviation between the weight and center of gravity of the first ship and theoretical values is less than 1%; We have broken through security design technology and solved issues related to the safe return to port design of 13 critical systems. In the entire cruise industry chain, the operational link directly affects the vacation experience of tourists. Huaxia International Cruise Line takes Wusongkou International Cruise Port as its home port, focuses on the construction of cruise operation capability system, gathers professional operation talents, and carries out professional, market-oriented, and international cruise operation management. "Peng Changjuan, head of the Product and Brand Marketing Center of Huaxia International Cruise Line Co., Ltd., said," With the gathering of talents, the company strives to build a cruise enterprise with independent operation and management capabilities, a certain team size, brand awareness, and market share within 3 to 5 years. "The joining of legal talents has also injected solid strength into the development of the cruise industry in Baoshan District. On July 18th, the establishment ceremony of the Shanghai Baoshan Cruise Legal Cooperation Development Community was held on the cruise ship "Star Travel Ocean · Gulangyu". We hope to take this as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation in the legal development of the international cruise industry, create a first-class legal business environment, guide the healthy development of the cruise industry, and create a model room for international cruise legal services, "said Wang Tong, Secretary of the Party Group and President of the Shanghai Maritime Court. Within one kilometer of Wusongkou International Cruise Port, Baoshan Customs, Baoshan Maritime Bureau, and Wusong Maritime Bureau gather here to safeguard the development of the cruise industry in Baoshan District. We have formulated and implemented safety supervision measures for cruise ships with 'one ship, one policy', closely monitoring the navigation dynamics of cruise ships through VTS systems, electronic cruise control and other means, and doing a good job in traffic organization and information services for large international cruise ships entering and leaving Geng Jianhua, Deputy Director of the Command Center of Shanghai Wusong Maritime Bureau, said. To cope with unexpected situations such as severe weather, the Wusong Maritime Safety Administration has established an emergency assessment and coordination mechanism, and jointly formulated a cruise navigation safety guarantee plan with multiple parties Geng Jianhua introduced that the Wusong Maritime Bureau has also optimized and upgraded the Yangtze River Estuary Deepwater Channel Traffic Control Declaration Platform, laying the foundation for ensuring timely entry and exit of cruise ships. Since the beginning of this year, 181 large cruise ships have been safely allowed to enter and exit the port. Baoshan Maritime Safety Administration has been promoting the continuous sinking of port services by providing customized services to ensure smooth and seamless operation. Due to the inconvenience for crew members to board and disembark during the berthing period of the cruise ship, we have collaborated with the cruise port company to set up a dedicated service desk for cruise ship crew members. Maritime law enforcement personnel will complete the collection of crew certificate information on site, enabling crew members to quickly handle the collection of crew certificate information without leaving customs, "said Zhang Jingshuo, deputy captain of the Cruise Port Brigade of Baoshan Maritime Bureau in Shanghai. In order to improve work efficiency and cover the areas where shipping companies need services the most, Baoshan Maritime Bureau will conduct pre audit and provide one-stop consultation, guidance, and business processing
Edit：NiChengRan Responsible editor：LiaoXin
Source：Economic Daily
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