Star Cruises celebrates 20 years in Taiwan with dual cruise ships and dual home ports

By / MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Team compiled report

The world’s third-largest cruise company and parent group of Star Cruises, Genting Hong Kong, marks 20 years of deep cultivation in Taiwan. With continued growth in the Asian market, Taiwan stands as the second-largest source market in Asia. This not only lays a solid foundation for Taiwan’s cruise tourism, but according to data released on the 17th, the Taiwanese market has already welcomed 2 million cruise passengers, demonstrating tremendous development potential. This year, to boost the tourism economy and in line with the Executive Yuan’s “Taiwan Cruise Industry Development Strategy,” positioning the cruise industry as a key player in tourism, starting from March 2017, Star Cruises will offer dual cruise services in Taiwan — “SuperStar Aquarius” and “SuperStar Virgo” — with Keelung and Kaohsiung serving as their respective home ports. This initiative fully supports the government’s goal of promoting the industrialization of Taiwan’s cruise sector.

Over the past 20 years in Taiwan, Genting Hong Kong has established offices globally and is the first cruise company to set up a branch in Taiwan. It has built strong cooperative relationships with Taiwanese travelers, tourism operators, and government departments. After two decades of operation, the number of Taiwanese passengers traveling with Star Cruises has surpassed 2 million, successfully sparking a cruise travel trend among locals. In addition to continuously driving the robust development of Taiwan’s cruise industry, Star Cruises also promotes the beauty of Taiwanese cities through cruise package tours, attracting cruise tourists from across Asia.

To deliver a relaxing sea vacation experience, Star Cruises has introduced the Fly Cruise series of routes, attracting cruise enthusiasts from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and other Asian countries to fly to Taiwan and embark on ocean adventures aboard the SuperStar Aquarius and SuperStar Virgo, thereby boosting the economic development around Keelung Port. Looking ahead to 2017, in alignment with government policy, Star Cruises will launch the “SuperStar Aquarius” and “SuperStar Virgo” dual cruise services in Taiwan starting from March, with Keelung and Kaohsiung as home ports. In addition to continuing popular Northeast Asia itineraries to Naha, Ishigaki, and Miyako in Okinawa, Japan, it will also newly introduce Southeast Asia routes departing from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong, Manila, and Laoag, using cruise tourism to drive economic development in Southeast Asian nations.

At the same time, through Star Cruises’ Fly Cruise package tours, international cruise passengers will continue to be attracted to Taiwan, enhancing the surrounding cruise economy. With the combined effect of the dual cruise and dual home port strategy, Genting Hong Kong estimates over 374 ship calls in 2017, accelerating the government’s goal of achieving 1 million passengers and over 600 ship calls this year. Additionally, Genting Hong Kong will collaborate with tourism bureaus in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Okinawa to promote cross-market economic and industrial development through cruise market expansion, bringing in tourist traffic.

Star Cruises’ flagship fleet, “SuperStar Virgo,” will depart from Kaohsiung as its home port starting March 21, 2017, offering a 6-day, 5-night Taiwan–Hong Kong–Manila–Laoag itinerary, bringing passengers from Hong Kong and the Philippines to Taiwan. Meanwhile, capitalizing on the booming interest in Japanese travel, “SuperStar Virgo” will also provide services to travelers from Keelung and Kaohsiung with Japan itineraries in June 2017.