Cruise Travel, Expanding Routes Departing from Korea

 

Operation of Jeju Cruise Inter Port in May as a follow-up to the Cruise Tourism Promotion Plan

 

 The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister Kang Do-hyung) and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST; Minister Yu In-chon) announced that they will collaborate with Jeju-do (Governor Oh Young-hun) to launch a Cruise Inter Port* that will allow cruise passengers to board and sail overseas from Jeju Gangjeong Port. The announcement was part of the core implementation task of “preemptive fostering of domestic home port and inter port cruise products” as the main agenda of the Cruise Tourism Promotion Plan.

 

 * Inter port: A port where some passengers can embark and disembark and enjoy experiential tourism

 

 Since the cruise tourism industry is centered on ports of call, Korean and foreign cruise tourists' domestic tourism could only take place during the limited time when the cruise ship was in port; as a result, there have been criticisms that domestic consumption expenditure and regional economic spillover effects were limited.

 

 Accordingly, MOF and MCST plan to foster home port and inter port cruise products preemptively to induce cruise tourists to consume more in Korea and revitalize the local economy. For this, ministries are making every effort to improve procedures and provide tourism convenience, such as unmanned automatic passport control, pre-consulting with the relevant CIQ* organizations, and tourism program development.

 

 * Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine

 

 The cruise inter port will be operated at Jeju Gangjeong Port for pilot test and will be expanded to other cruise ports such as Jeju Port.

 

 MCST will support the expansion of extended-stay tourism by transforming underutilized marine tourism resources in 8 domestic regions including Jeju-do into specialized tourism content. This initiative includes selecting regional maritime tourism content (draft proposals by December 2024) and commercializing distinctive marine tourism products. In particular, Jeju-do's maritime tourism content will be linked with cruise tourism products, enabling disembarking passengers to enjoy a variety of experiences.

 

 "The expansion of cruise inter port will stimulate the local economy and drive sustainable growth in Korea. We will continue close collaboration with the relevant agencies to establish cruise tourism as a new growth engine for regional economies,” MOF Minister Kang Do-hyung said.

 

 According to MCST Minister Yu In-chon, marine tourism including cruise activities is considered a key driver for revitalizing regional tourism. "We will make every effort in cooperation with related ministries and local governments to identify marine tourism content such as port-of-call tourism and develop marine tourism themes,” he added.

 

 More details can be found on the official website of the travel agency in charge of inter port cruise operations (www.cruisejeju.com).