Incheon Port Revitalized by Cruise Ships... 12 Calls Expected This Year with 18,000 Passengers

by Park Haesook

Published 09 Apr.2023 18:34(KST)

Cruise ships, which had stopped docking at Incheon Port since 2020 due to COVID-19, are now gradually returning.

According to the Incheon Port Authority (IPA) on the 9th, the German-flagged Tui Cruise's cruise ship Mein Schiff 5 (98,000 tons) and Hapag-Lloyd's cruise ship Europa 2 (43,000 tons) docked at Incheon Port on the 7th.

Mein Schiff 5 departed from Hong Kong on the 30th of last month with 2,121 passengers and 1,026 crew members, stopping at Kagoshima and Nagasaki in Japan, Busan in South Korea, before arriving at Incheon.

Incheon City, IPA, the Incheon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, and the Incheon Tourism Organization held a welcoming ceremony to commemorate the resumption of cruise ship arrivals at Incheon Port after three years, presenting flower garlands to the first disembarked passengers and a commemorative plaque to the captain.

Passengers from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Taiwan, and other countries toured Incheon’s tourist attractions such as the Incheon Jung-gu Gaehangjang Street, Chinatown, Wolmido, and Sinpo International Market before heading to Keelung Port in Taipei, Taiwan.

Additionally, Europa 2, which docked at Incheon Inner Port on the 19th of last month with 419 passengers and about 370 crew members, returned to Incheon Port on the 7th.

With cruise ship arrivals at Incheon Port becoming more active, it is expected that a total of 12 cruise ships will dock this year, starting with about 8,400 passengers this month, bringing approximately 18,000 visitors to Incheon.

Kim Jong-gi, Vice President of Operations at Incheon Port Authority, said, "As we overcome COVID-19, cruise ship arrivals at Incheon Port are continuing. We will do our best to attract more cruise ships to Incheon Port and to revitalize cruise tourism."