New bus route to ease travel from cruise port

A new bus route connecting Kai Tak to Tsim Sha Tsui will be added before the next big cruise ship arrives in the SAR, Commissioner for Tourism Vivian Sum Fong-kwang said, after arrivals complained they had to wait for a long time to catch a taxi at the cruise terminal.

Sum also said the government will offer incentives to encourage taxis to pick up travelers from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

Details about the new arrangements will be announced later, Sum added.

Earlier, Jeff Bent, managing director of terminal operator World Wide Cruise Terminals, said that a road closure outside the terminal in Kai Tak last Friday - due to a traffic accident - caused tourists to wait for as long as 40 minutes for a taxi.

He said the operator arranged tourist coaches for cruise ship passengers but the existing transport network in Kai Tak is far from ideal.

"We've always wanted to enhance ferry services," Bent said. "For example, we can add a stop at Kai Tak to the ferry route running between North Point and Kwun Tong. We can also start a new ferry route connecting to the Ngau Tau Kok MTR station.

"We also wish to see an early opening of new bus routes, which is scheduled for the third or fourth quarter this year."

Bent suggested the government use land near the dock as parking lots for Hong Kong drivers, so that they won't have to take a taxi like tourists.

He also said Kai Tak was designed to be a tourism hub but was used as a quarantine center during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He urged authorities to move the quarantine facilities to the Northern Metropolis and build hotels and shopping malls in Kai Tak so that it can become a popular tourist site.

Bent said 143 cruise ships would dock at Kai Tak this year - 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels. But the number of tourists is only at 40 percent compared to before the pandemic because ships coming to the SAR this year are smaller.

As cruise companies usually make plans three years in advance, the number of visitors may not fully resume until 2026, he said.

Lawmaker Kitson Yang Wing-kit said Worldwide Cruise Terminals should prepare more than 100 tourist coaches to carry travelers to MTR stations and sightseeing sites. But he said it was not feasible to open new ferry routes as ferries operate at designated times.

Hong Kong Tourism Industry Employees General Union chairwoman Sara Leung Fong-yuen said the government should offer discounts to attract merchants to return to the terminal. "I feel ashamed as the cruise terminal remains like a 'dead city' after nearly HK$1 billion in investment and hundreds of millions for maintenance," Leung said. "Since the shopping area is vacant at the moment, the government should waive rent for merchants for a year to bring in business."

Meanwhile, Travel Industry Council chairwoman Gianna Hsu Wong Mei-lun welcomed cruise line Royal Caribbean's decision to choose Hong Kong as a home port, saying it will benefit Hong Kong travelers and bring in more tourists.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com

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