TOP executives of the world’s major cruise lines, government officials and cruise industry stakeholders will attend the Seatrade Cruise Asia Pacific Congress in Baoshan today and tomorrow.

Hosted by Baoshan Wusongkou Cruise Terminal and Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute, the congress will focus on China’s impact on regional and global cruise markets now and in the future. Cruise line executives, industry experts and government officials will also discuss challenges in China’s cruise industry in a series of conference sessions.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International; Buhdy BOK, president of Costa Group Asia; and Michael GOH, senior vice president of Star Cruises & Dream Cruises will participate and give speeches.

“China is set to become the world’s largest cruise travel market in 10 years. The international cruise economy is entering the ‘China era’,” said Wang Hong, the Party secretary of Baoshan District and director general of Shanghai International Cruise Business Institute.

Wang will make an opening remark and a keynote speech at the congress.

Participants will discuss ways to tap the potential of China’s cruise market and strategies to develop the Shanghai Cruise Industry Zone in Baoshan, the first such in China approved by the National Tourism Administration.

A welcome reception for cruise liner executives and a banquet for all participants will provide opportunities for business networking, the event organizer said.

A travel agent training day will be held during the congress to improve the service of cruise agents.

China’s cruise industry started in July 2006 when Costa Allegra became the first holiday cruise to dock at Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal. That year Shanghai received 59 international cruises and more than 80,000 passengers. The number surged to 344 ships and 1.6 million passengers last year, or 66 percent of the national total, Wang said.

The Wusongkou terminal is the biggest homeport for cruise liners in Asia and is among the top five globally.

Situated in the mouth of the Yangtze River, Baoshan is the gateway to Shanghai because of its port. The district is shifting its emphasis from steel industry to cruise industry. It attracted a lot of attention in March this year when its official delegation unveiled an ambitious plan at the Seatrade Cruise Global in Fort Lauderdale in Miami, USA. Last year, the Baoshan-based institute also released an English version of the China Cruise Industry Development Report.

“China is playing an important role in the global cruise economy,” Wang said. Other Chinese ports in Tianjin, Shenzhen and Qingdao also have cruise industry zones. Together they are expected to receive over 3.9 million passengers and 800 cruise ships this year. Eighteen cruise liners have made homeports in China.

With a total investment of 870 million yuan (US$130 million) from the district government and Shanghai Yangtze Shipping Corp, the Wusongkou Cruise Terminal in Baoshan is the best in Asia, surpassing its rivals in Singapore and Hong Kong. It looks like a giant shell in silver color. The terminal, put to use in October 2011, has a 1,600-meter-long wharf long enough for two giant ships like Sapphire Princess or Mariner of the Seas to berth at the same time.

The district government recently announced an expansion plan for two new terminal buildings to meet the growing demand of domestic travelers.

Wusongkou Port will add two wharfs, 380 meters and 446 meters long, along the Yangtze River next year, making it possible for two 150,000-ton liners and two 230,000-ton liners to berth at the same time, said Wang Younong, chairman of the board of the Wusongkou Cruise Terminal.

Entertainment facilities such as a concert hall and a cinema theater will also be built in the area. Power generators will be constructed as well to supply electricity to cruise liners and cut their diesel emissions.

The port will receive nearly 500 cruise liners this year, including the world-famous Sapphire Princess and Quantum of the Seas.

More and more cruise liners have made Shanghai their home port. The 143,700-ton Majestic Princess operated by Carnival, a UK company, will launch its new route from Baoshan next July, carrying about 3,500 guests to destinations in Japan and Korea. The ship is still under construction in Italy by shipbuilder Fincantieri. AIDAbella, a luxury cruise owned by a German company has also made Shanghai its home port.

These luxury liners are expected to bring 2.9 million passengers, both Chinese and foreign, by the end of 2016.

Apart from infrastructure construction, Shanghai immigration authorities have introduced a 15-day visa-free policy for foreign tourists arriving by cruise ships. They can travel to Beijing and coastal provinces where their cruises berth.

Though the country’s cruise industry is developing by leaps and bounds, the number of foreign passengers is still small. Among the 1.6 million passengers arriving at Shanghai Port last year, only about 69,000 were foreigners, according to the city’s immigration authorities.

The new policy is expected to attract more foreign tourists to take cruise trips to Shanghai, the officials said.

The district government is thinking big and plans to build the so-called International Cruise City around the Wusongkou terminal, Baoshan Party secretary Wang said.

“Baoshan will become the most competitive cruise hub in the Asia Pacific, a showcase of China’s cruise economy and a core part of Shanghai’s effort to become a world-class tourist city and international shipping center,” she added.

The Wusongkou terminal, the core area of the planned International Cruise City, will have a waterfront promenade and a vast public square. The district government will attract international cruise companies to set up their headquarters in the area, Wang noted.

Costa Cruise Lines has decided to move its regional headquarters to Baoshan. China’s leading online travel service provider Ctrip already registered its SkySea cruise line in the district. About 20 cruise-related companies are now based in Baoshan.

Furthermore, the district government has joined China State Shipbuilding Corporation, Carnival Group of USA, Fincantieri of Italy and other cruise industry giants to form a business alliance.

“The next five years will be crucial for China’s cruise industry to grow rapidly and gain global influence,” Wang said, adding that her institute will deliver a green paper on cruise industry development in China and the Asia Pacific region at the congress.

The bilingual green paper addresses problems stemming from rapid expansion of China’s cruise industry, such as a lack of Chinese professionals to operate cruise liners and the price war among cruise companies.

China’s cruise industry is at the lower level of the value chain, mainly providing berths and services to international liners and receiving low-budget travelers, the green paper observes.

European and American shipbuilders hold key techniques for cruise ship construction. Fincantieri (Italy), Meyer Werft (Germany) and Chantiers de l’Atlantique (France) now produce 90 percent of the world’s cruise ships. China has no experience in this area.

The green paper proposes to set up a cruise industry fund to support the Chinese cruise fleet, to enhance cooperation with European shipbuilders and to develop more domestic routes to attract foreign tourists.