The operator of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal has rejected suggestions to revitalise the site as a shopping centre, after lawmakers and industry players proposed revamping the underused facility to attract more tourism.
Worldwide Cruise Terminals managing director Jeff Bent on Thursday evening stressed that the site’s main purposes were as a home port for ships and a temporary stop before passengers boarded or disembarked.
“People are travelling with their families and suitcases, they are not looking to shop at the terminal,” he said. “They can enjoy meals for free on the cruise, so most of them may not be looking to eat.”
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Bent explained that a home port was generally used to help people get on and off ships, compared with ports of call that were surrounded by retail and tourist attractions.
The terminal came under the spotlight last week after passengers complained about being stuck there without transport to other parts of the city, while taxi drivers said they had stayed away from the site because of volatile service demand.
Authorities responded with a contingency plan on Tuesday night, offering HK$50 (US$6) vouchers to cabbies who set up at the terminal the next morning.
Three new shuttle bus routes and a free bus route, 22R, were also added under the plan to handle passengers disembarking from the cruise ship Resorts World One.
Lawmaker Chan Hoi-yan had said the government should take advantage of the opportunity to improve the terminal and make it a tourist destination.
Resorts World One is one of only two ships set to dock at the terminal for the rest of the month, with Spectrum of the Seas making a single visit on August 19 before returning on September 23.
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Resorts World One, which is also the only liner now to call Hong Kong its mother port, will use the facility on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays throughout August.
The cruise terminal in Kowloon City was unable to attract visitors during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the site was subject to a three-year shutdown.
According to the terminal’s directory, the facility houses the Hong Kong Cruise Academy and five restaurants, which include Chinese banquet and casual-dining options, as well as a Hong Kong-style teahouse, or cha chaan teng.
Bent said that while retail spaces only accounted for 4 per cent of the 5,574-square-metre commercial area, all the shops at the terminal were leased and tenants had been renewing their agreements as recently as June.
Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, agreed the terminal should not be turned into a shopping centre and was adamant that a strong shuttle bus network would be enough to smooth out any issues.
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“[Cruise passengers] will want to squeeze in as much time as possible to sightsee in the city before leaving at around 4pm, for instance,” Chui said. “A strong and efficient shuttle bus network is important, as tourists are coming to Hong Kong for fun, not for the cruise terminal.”
While Chui acknowledged that more coffee shops and souvenir shops would be attractive to disembarking passengers, he said the terminal should focus on its main purpose of welcoming visitors and ship crew to help promote tourism.
“There are two missions for the cruise terminal. The first one is to attract more liners to come to Hong Kong as soon as possible. The other one is to attract high-spending customers to serve as a global link, rather than a shopping centre,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong Cruise and Yacht Industry Association chief executive Kara Yeung Tsz-ching said the terminal could be styled as a “mini Hong Kong” offering regular shuttle bus services to ensure smooth traffic flow and attract locals during low seasons.
“If there are some shuttle bus routes to Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok that are present when there are no cruises docking, it would be attractive to locals and tourists who may not come to the terminal otherwise as an attraction,” she said.
Yeung, who operates a business at the terminal, said locally themed stores would be attractive to tourists as they would be more interested in souvenirs that captured the city’s unique flavour than tax-free goods.
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Freddy Yip Hing-ning, president of the Hong Kong Travel Agent Owners Association, said the surrounding area had a negative impact on disembarking passengers’ experiences.
“When you alight from the cruise, you are surrounded by construction sites and community isolation facilities. Then you have to wait an hour for transport when you only have hours to experience the city,” he said. “This detracts from the tourists’ first impressions of Hong Kong.”
The terminal was built on the runway of the former Kai Tak Airport for a price tag of HK$6.6 billion and opened in 2013.
Slammed as a “white elephant” project, the facility boasts a floor area similar to the size of Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.
The port welcomed 178 vessels in 2019, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the city’s cruise passenger throughput. Port activity was halted in February 2020 amid the pandemic, before cruises returned in January of this year.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Kai Tak dreams fizzle: Hong Kong’s massive ‘second CBD’ project slowed down by delays, changes to original plans
- Blocked views, temporary housing threaten Kai Tak’s appeal and home prices as Hong Kong proposes 10,700 new flats
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