Qingdao cruise tours, which offer a comfortable environment and integrate catering, housing, tourism, shopping and entertainment, have been more and more popular since April, according to the Qingdao International Cruise Port.

The number of cruise tours starting from Qingdao is continuing to increase in April and more than 10 voyages per month from June to September have been arranged. Qingdao cruise tourism has entered its high season.

A cruise ship at berth in Qingdao International Cruise Port. [Photo/dailyqd.com]

It is reported that dozens of cruises will start their voyages at Qingdao, such as Costa Fortuna, Superstar Virgo and Chinese Taishan.

Costa Fortuna, weighing over 100,000 tons and belonging to Carnival Cruise Line, the world's largest cruise company, will depart Qingdao in September, which will be the first time Qingdao International Cruise Port has serviced a cruise ship of such large size.

Superstar Virgo of Star Cruises, the pioneer of the cruise ship industry, will open a new cruise route in November, using Qingdao as its home port for the first time.

Meanwhile, Qingdao will also receive foreign cruise ships, like Star of Legend, Volendam, Westerdam and Viking Orion, to berth at the port.

According to the industry promotion department of the Qingdao International Cruise Port, it has deepened cooperation and communication with cruise companies and travel agencies both at home and aboard to attract more cruise ships to Qingdao.

In 2019, Norvegian Cruise Line, the largest and most luxurious cruise ship in Asia, is expected to settle in Qingdao. And Star Cruises will also increase its frequency of voyages operating in Qingdao.

Sun Qi, secretary-general of the cruise center of the Qingdao Travel Agency Association, said that the increasing number of cruise voyages setting off from Qingdao is an indication of the potential of the Qingdao cruise tourism market.

Sun believes that as people's acceptance of cruise ships grows, more and more tourists will choose cruising as their preferred vacation.

As an important port city in northern China and an open coastal city, Qingdao has a unique advantage in developing cruise tourism. The Qingdao municipal government has also attached great importance to the development of cruise tourism in recent years.

Since the opening of the Qingdao International Cruise Port in 2015, cruise routes to Japan, South Korea, Russia and other countries and regions have been opened successively and more than 220 cruises have been made. The number of tourists in the cruising industry in 2017 reached 230,500, which ranks sixth in the country.