Cruise ship operators that make Kaohsiung a home port would enjoy a full waiver of the passenger service charge if they offer three or more voyages departing from the nation’s largest international port next year, Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) said yesterday.
The state-run commercial seaport firm made the announcement at the Taiwan Cruise Forum, during which it laid out a series of incentives for cruise ship operators to stop at Taiwanese seaports.
TIPC estimated that the number of cruise ship port calls could reach 418 this year, 62.3 percent of the 2019 level. The number of cruise ship visitors would reach 905,302 this year, 85.8 percent of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
The company estimated that the number of cruise ship port calls could top 620 next year, 92.4 percent of the 2019 level.
About 920,000 cruise ship travelers are expected to arrive, 88 percent of the pre-pandemic level, it said.
Estimates for next year’s cruise ship visitors are made based on the notifications that the port company has received so far, it said.
“We do not want a strong recovery from the pandemic this year to be a flash in the pan and hope that the growth momentum would continue. As such, our team decided to roll out a preferential scheme for international cruises next year if they meet certain criteria,” TIPC president Wang Chin-jung (王錦榮) told reporters on the sidelines of the forum.
Dockage fees would be fully waived for cruise ships that have not had any calling record at eight of the nine seaports managed by TIPC since March 1, 2012 — the ports of Keelung, Taipei, Suao, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Anping, Hualien and Penghu, Wang said.
The Port of Budai is not open to docking cruise ships.
Dockage fees would also be waived for cruise ships making two or more port calls during the same voyage, he said.
A passenger service fee — NT$460 (US$14.18) per person — would be completely waived if cruise ships call at ports in Taipei, Suao, Taichung, Anping and Hualien, Wang said.
A 50 percent discount on passenger service fee would apply to cruise ships making 10 port calls in the Port of Keelung, five in the Port of Kaohsiung or five in the Port of Penghu. The discount would also apply to making two or more port calls during the same voyage.
As incentives for cruise ship operators to have dual home ports in Keelung and Kaohsiung, passenger service fees would be fully waived for those offering three or more voyages departing from Kaohsiung, while a 30 percent discount on the fee would apply to those making one or two voyages, Wang said.
For cruise ships with home ports in Taiwan, if 30 percent of passengers in a voyage are international tourists, all passengers on board would be able to pay an additional NT$100 less in service fees, he said, adding that the discount can be used along with other promotional offers.
The company has also offered incentives for cruise ship operators to make port calls in Taiwan in 2026, although the dockage fee waiver would not be available to those docking in the Port of Taipei.
In 2026, a full waiver of the passenger service charge would only be available to those docking in Suao, Taichung and Anping. A 30 percent discount on passenger service fee would apply to cruise ships making port calls in Hualien and Penghu. Cruise ships making 15 port calls in Keelung or eight port calls in Kaohsiung can access the same discount scheme on its passenger service fee. Cruise ships stopping at Hualien, Keelung and Kaohsiung with more than 30 percent foreign passengers on board can have passenger service fees reduced by NT$100.
Wang said that the incentives for 2026 are subject to change.
If the scheme for next year is proven effective in boosting the number of cruise ship travelers, additional preferential schemes could be introduced in 2026, he said.
The preferential scheme would cost the TIPC about NT$300 million, but the nation would benefit from such an investment, Wang said.
Resorts World One, a cruise ship that offered 32 voyages departing from Keelung this year, purchased about NT$200 million of agricultural products from Taiwan to replenish its food supply on board, he said.
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