China News Service, Haikou, March 20 (Reporter Huang Yi) "According to the original judgment on the epidemic situation, we expect that the cruise ship 'Longing' will be put into operation after half a year, but the development of the epidemic situation has far exceeded expectations. With the 'Vision', the company has invested more than 200 million yuan." Jiang Zhigang, chairman of Sanya International Cruise Development Co., Ltd., said with emotion.
The "Vision" cruise ship is a luxury cruise ship introduced by Sanya International Cruise Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CCCC, from Princess Cruises in November 2020. Jiang Zhigang told reporters that the 77,000-ton cruise ship is like a luxury hotel floating on the sea. With thousands of guest rooms, only maintaining the most basic normal state of shelving requires a lot of manpower and fuel costs.
Sanya International Cruise Development Co., Ltd. was established in 2015. It is a local enterprise focusing on developing the cruise economy in Hainan and helping the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port.
After more than six years of development, it planned to start a new journey with the introduction of the first international luxury cruise ship "Longing", the first international luxury cruise ship from Hainan's local cruise company, but it was suspended due to the continuation of the epidemic.
As a key industry encouraged by the Hainan Free Trade Port, the cruise industry in Hainan, which had been developing well before, was hit by the epidemic and was almost completely suspended. At present, only the cruise line of Xisha has resumed operations.
Xiang Yu, Director of the Cruise and Yacht Industry Division of the Sanya Central Business District Administration, analyzed that the epidemic has had a huge impact on the cruise consumer market. Due to the relatively simple revenue model of domestic cruise tourism, the suspension of sailing means that cruise companies will not only lose their main business income, but also face with huge cost consumption.
Yao Dongwei, Secretary of the Board of Directors of Hainan Shitian Cruise Group Co., Ltd., told reporters that Shitian Cruises signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Sanya Municipal Government in March 2020, and plans to set up its self-designed first five-star red flag luxury cruise ship at the Sanya Cruise Home Port for operation.
"After the outbreak, the entire plan, including construction, financing, and operations, was disrupted."
Hainan is one of the earliest provinces in China to introduce cruise tourism. The cruise industry is gradually developing into one of Hainan's characteristic emerging industries. Despite the impact of the epidemic, its development potential cannot be underestimated.
Since 2020, the Sanya Central Business District, a key free trade port park dominated by cruise ships and yachts, has attracted a large number of leading enterprises to settle in.
Xiang Yu said that this shows the confidence of the cruise line in Hainan.
In the past year, Hainan has introduced a number of innovative systems, including allowing Chinese-funded cruise ships with flags of convenience to carry out pilot cruises in Hainan.
Xiang Yu introduced that the so-called sea route refers to the route in which the cruise ship does not dock but only cruises at sea.
"The upstream sea route is a relatively safe route during the epidemic. Before the overseas route is opened, it has a certain degree of competitiveness. After the implementation of this policy, it will bring opportunities to the cruise industry in Hainan."
"Hainan's superior geographical location and the unique policy advantages of the free trade port make enterprises optimistic about the prospects of Hainan's cruise industry." said Yu Zhijun, deputy general manager of Sanya Kaiyuan International Cruise Co., Ltd.
Xiang Yu said that Hainan's policies, including the International Ship Registration Regulations, focus on problems that have plagued the cruise industry for many years, and are very attractive to companies.
After years of development, China has grown into the world's second largest cruise passenger market.
The industry believes that after the epidemic is over, China's cruise passenger flow may usher in an explosive growth.
All parties in the cruise industry must break through the inherent development model and work together to stimulate market vitality.
Hainan can make innovative policy attempts to solve the current predicament of cruise companies.
Yu Zhijun said that during the period when the cruise tourism business was stagnant due to the epidemic, companies in the industry should reengineer their business processes, carry out talent training and reserve, and government departments should speed up to make up for shortcomings in infrastructure, establish a long-term mechanism to promote industrial development, and welcome the recovery of the cruise industry. new challenges.
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