Some 1,560 cruise sailings are scheduled for Asia in 2016, a 43% increase over last year, with a record overall capacity of 2.3 million passengers. The number of ships sailing Asian waters has risen from 43 in 2013 to 52 in 2015 to 60 this year, according to data from the 2016 Asia Cruise Trends Study.
Norwegian’s first ship built specifically for the China market, Norwegian Joy, will debut next summer; Royal Caribbean’s new Ovation will spend time in China during its inaugural year; and Carnival Spirit will be the first Carnival Cruise Line ship to sail out of China in 2018.
Much of the increase in passengers is coming from within the Asia-Pacific region; Asia experienced the highest year-over-year growth in local ocean-cruise passengers (24%), with a total of 2.08 million passengers—close to a million of them from mainland China alone—cruising in 2015.
And when it comes to popular ports, it's not just China that's getting the spotlight—Japan is the biggest destination country with 1,526 in 2016 and Jeju Island, South Korea, is the most visited port in 2016 with 260 calls.
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