The cruise ship Blue Dream Star embarked on its first voyage from Xiamen to Subic, the Philippines on Oct 10. [Photo/Xiamen Daily]
The cruise ship Blue Dream Star embarked on its first voyage from Xiamen to Subic, the Philippines on Oct 10 carrying over 1,000 passengers. This marked the resumption of international cruise tours from the Xiamen International Cruise Home Port after more than three years of suspension.
This Philippine route is the first "Belt and Road" route departing from China since the recovery of international cruise lines on Sept 19.
Several international cruise routes operated by the Blue Dream Star, have been scheduled, according to the Xiamen International Cruise Home Port Group.
Starting from October, the group will launch 12 trips on three routes: Xiamen-the Philippines' Subic-Xiamen, Xiamen-Japan's Okinawa-Xiamen, and Xiamen-the Republic of Korea's Jeju-Shanghai. All trips will last five days and four nights.
There are high hopes for Xiamen international cruise's resumption due to the quick recovery of outbound tourism. The restart and development of international cruises will help stimulate tourism, promote consumption, boost market confidence and contribute to the high-quality development of Xiamen port.