The Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal will be completed and open for business by the end of the year, a senior manager said yesterday.

When it does, it will be "the largest modern cruiser port in China," Bao Qifan, executive vice-president of the Shanghai International Port (Group) Co Ltd, told China Daily.

Currently, Shanghai, Tianjin and Sanya in Hainan Province can all berth large cruisers.

The 130,000-sq-m terminal in Shanghai will be the largest of its kind, able to berth three large cruise ships with 70,000-80,000 tonnages at the same time.

It has been designed to handle an annual throughput of 1 million people.

The terminal began operating on a trial basis last July. Before then, international cruisers visiting Shanghai had to drop passengers at commercial terminals, which was inconvenient.

Bao said 32 international passenger liners carrying about 90,000 passengers and crew visited Shanghai last year, representing an increase of 20 percent over 2005.

"The new terminal is expected to attract more international cruises to Shanghai, because it can offer better services, including commercial facilities and faster transport and distribution channels," he said.

"We estimate the terminal will receive at least 100 international cruise liners every year," he said.

The terminal will greet more than 40 cruise liners prior to its formal opening at the end of the year, Bao said.

While acknowledging the terminal was not yet making money, Bao said he expected it to bring "comprehensive profits" to Shanghai in the future.

"It will also help Shanghai develop into an international shipping center, and add to the port's core competitiveness," he said.

While the terminal now mainly receives cruises from abroad, Bao said he hoped it will soon also provide a point from which Chinese can travel abroad.

Currently, there is only one cruise route starting from Shanghai, which runs to Japan and South Korea.

But insiders expect cruising to become more popular.

Zhang Kaixin, who works in the marketing department of Beijing UTS International Travel Service Co Ltd, said: "Cruises are becoming trendy among Chinese who want the latest in fashion and leisure. They are different from traditional holidays, which often involve rushing from one scenic spot to another, which can be tiring."

She said outbound cruise products entered the Chinese market in 1995 but sales have been consistently "unsatisfactory", even after overseas companies like Star Cruise and Costa got involved.

The good news is the situation is now changing, she said, as Chinese people find themselves with more disposable income and start to accept the idea of booking their holidays in advance.

(China Daily 07/18/2007 page5)