Hong Kong cruise company seeks more piers for its on-board dining services proven to be a hit with mainland Chinese budget tours
- Harbour Cruise – Bauhinia says lunchtime service will be offered next Wednesday to Friday after success of recent trial
- Operator hopes to expand pickup points to piers in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Wan Chai and Central
A Hong Kong cruise operator has urged the government to help make more piers available in the city for its services offering lunch on its vessels to budget tour groups from mainland China, saying a recent trial of the dining experience was a success.
Harbour Cruise – Bauhinia on Thursday said it would offer the lunchtime service next Wednesday to Friday, hoping to cater to at least 15 mainland tour groups a day, after a trial involving about 50 tourists went smoothly.
Rockie Ip Ting-kwok, director of the company’s operations, said it aimed to expand the pickup points to piers in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, Wan Chai and Central, adding it could only use the ones in North Point and Kwun Tong at the moment.
“We used the Kwun Tong pier in the hope of easing the crowd of tourists and traffic at Kowloon City,” Ip said.
The move to use cruises to serve meals to mainland tour groups comes after residents in To Kwa Wan, Kowloon City and Hung Hom last week complained that tourists were causing a nuisance and traffic jams in those areas.
During Wednesday’s trial, about 50 mainland tourists on budget tours boarded the lower deck of the cruise at Kwun Tong and enjoyed a 45-minute lunch before returning to their coaches.
The Travel Industry Authority, tasked by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to address crowd management and transport issues, said it was satisfied with the arrangement.