The passenger volume was an increase of 35.8% year-on-year, while calls tallied 61, a 48.8% increase.
What drove the growth
Yang Lili, deputy general manager of Xiamen International Cruise Home Port Group, attributed passenger growth to the cruises operated during Chinese Spring Festival, and the temporarily recovered cruise voyages to Taiwan in May. Additionally, China’s Belt and Road scheme development brought passengers to Xiamen.
Promotions and outreach
In the second half, Xiamen will strengthen its investment promotion to attract more calls, establish a big data platform for 'intelligent cruise port development' and deepen the co-operation among the port, cruise ship operators and travel agencies.
Xiamen International Cruise Home Port completed an upgrade of its cruise terminal in April this year. The port is able to accommodate large cruise ships up to 225,000gt.
In the first quarter of 2019, the port received 32 cruise calls and 89,300 passengers, achieving explosive growth compared to the same period last year.