China’s Sanya to expand Phoenix Island cruise facilityChina’s Sanya to expand Phoenix Island cruise facility

The plan is part of an overall effort by Hainan province to strengthen its status as an attractive international cruise destination, riding on the island’s geographical and climate advantages, Wu was reported saying.

Developments in the pipeline for Phoenix Island International Cruise Terminal include the construction of four new cruise berths to accommodate five to seven cruise ships at any one time, including the world’s largest Oasis-class ships.

At present, the Phoenix Island International Cruise Terminal features a 80,000gt berth for cruise ships. Since November 2006 when the cruise terminal opened, the facility has welcomed more than 460 cruise calls and inbound and outbound passenger numbers exceeding 800,000.

The cruise terminal also aims to receive more than one million inbound and outbound passengers in 10 years, according to Zeng Xian, chairman of PIICT.

Wang Wanmao, senior consultant at PIICT, pointed out the facilities at Sanya are insufficient to cater to the growing cruise market.

'Compared to the matured cruise market in the US, Sanya does not lag in terms of having the resources and market potential. With the US population at 300 million and China population at 1.3 billion, Sanya’s cruise tourism has a much bigger potential. This is also one of the reasons why we are going ahead to build four more new cruise berths,' Wang said.

He added that with cruise ships getting bigger, the existing berths at Sanya are seeing their limitations. Wang cited an example that during the Chinese New Year period this year, a 150,000gt cruise ship visited but had to anchor and tender passengers ashore.