Incheon worrying about possible decline in cruise ships from China

Published : Mar 3, 2017 - 15:04 Updated : Mar 3, 2017 - 15:04

Incheon, South Korea's major port of call for cruise ships, is on alert as the Chinese government is known to have ordered its travel agencies to stop selling South Korean tour programs to its locals in retaliation for Seoul's unwavering push for the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system on its soil.

China harshly criticizes Seoul's decision to introduce the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which it claims poses threats to its security, and vows every kind of retaliatory steps if the deployment is actualized.

Quantum of the Seas, the largest cruise ship plying Northeast Asia, docks at Songdo Port in Incheon, west of Seoul, on March 4, 2016, carrying some 4,800 Chinese tourists. (Yonhap)

There are 43 scheduled visits by cruise ships to the port this year, with 30 departures from China, or 70 percent of the total, the Incheon Port Authority said.

"However, it is feared to see a sharp decline in the entry of cruise ships from China amid the ongoing THAAD controversy," an IPA official said.

In reality, a cruise ship recently canceled its schedule to bring 4,200 tourists from the eastern Chinese port city of Tianjin in June, an IPA official said.

"We're keeping a close watch on THAAD developments, although there has yet to be additional notices of cancellation," the official said.

Last year, Incheon saw a total of 62 cruise calls carrying 165,000 tourists, with 47 times, or 75.8 percent of the total, being departures from China, he added.

Meanwhile, the IPA and the central government are jointly building a new international passenger terminal in Incheon with an investment of 670 billion won ($580.48 million). The terminal, capable of housing the world's largest cruise ship, is set to open in the latter half of 2019. (Yonhap)