Incheon Cruise Industry Shows Clear Recovery This Year... '113 Port Calls, 3.5 Times Last Year'

Incheon's cruise industry, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, is showing a clear recovery this year.

Cruise ship port calls at Incheon Port this year are tallied at 113, which is about 3.5 times the 32 calls recorded last year.

This morning (October 16), the 30,000-ton class Azamara Pursuit operated by a US cruise line entered the Incheon Port Cruise Terminal carrying about 900 passengers and crew members, with another 39 port calls planned through the end of the year.

With its geographical advantage of being close to Seoul and abundant tourism resources, cruise tourism in Incheon flourished around the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

However, after being completely suspended due to COVID-19 from 2020 to 2022, it remained sluggish with 12 calls in 2023, 15 calls in 2024, and 32 calls last year.

As the city expects the number of overseas cruise tourists visiting Incheon to reach 200,000 this year, it plans to maximize the economic ripple effect by linking tourism contents that utilize local characteristics.

In particular, the city is significantly increasing the number of on-site tourist guides to expand personalized guidance services and providing free shuttle buses for convenient travel to major commercial districts such as Songdo and Sinpo.

Port industry insiders expect the number of cruise ships calling at Incheon next year to increase even further from this year, reaching 129 calls.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.