Cruise control? Tourist ship operators to provide passengers’ preferred travel options in Hong Kong, arrange for split disembarkation to avoid terminal bottleneck
- Tourism chief Kevin Yeung vows to learn lessons from recent logistics fiasco in which arriving cruise passengers had to queue under the heat for transport into city
- He guarantees authorities have prepared for impending arrival of 5,000-strong Spectrum of the Seas next week
Cruise operators of ships arriving in Hong Kong next week will have to provide passengers’ preferred travel options in advance and arrange for disembarkation in batches if needed, the city’s tourism chief has said in a bid to avoid congestion at the Kai Tak terminal.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, vowing to draw lessons from a recent logistics fiasco at the cruise terminal, on Saturday said the government had been scrambling to improve passenger services with the arrival of mega vessel Spectrum of the Seas on August 19.
“Last Saturday, large crowds of passengers had to wait at the terminal for a long time … which had an impact on the city’s image and tourism. We stepped in immediately to improve the transport arrangements there,” he told a radio programme.
“In view of another cruise visit next Saturday, we will learn our lesson … Passengers can be arranged to disembark in batches if needed so they don’t need to queue up for a long time outside at the terminal under the sweltering heat.”
Terminal operators should monitor the situation and notify the coming cruise ship with 5,000 people on board that not all passengers would be let off if there was a bottleneck for transport into the city, he said.
Yeung also pledged to improve services for disembarking passengers, saying tourism officials had been liaising with the terminal operator and the cruise ship on different plans to provide efficient transport services.
“We are now working out preparation plans for enhancing services for passengers. For example, we have demanded that the cruise provide us with passengers’ preferred transport options so we can offer choices for them, such as more taxis,” he said.
