In a joint effort to boost cruise tourism, China's Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Culture and Tourism recently issued the "Several Measures to Further Promote Cruise Transport and Tourism Services" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"). The document outlines 10 specific initiatives, including expanding departure routes, enhancing service quality, and diversifying cruise tourism offerings.

Yao Yuanxiang, Director of Cruise Business at TONGCHENGTRAVEL, noted that domestic travel companies have traditionally focused on selling outbound short and long-haul routes from home ports, as well as short or global itineraries from overseas destinations. The new "Measures" emphasize "encouraging five-starred Chinese-flagged cruise ships to develop domestic coastal routes," which is expected to significantly advance the domestic coastal cruise market.

"Moving forward, TONGCHENGTRAVEL will collaborate with industry partners to develop domestic coastal cruise routes, enrich onboard services and shore excursion options, and integrate with premium domestic waterway tourism routes," Yao added.

Since 2025, TONGCHENGTRAVEL has seen a steady expansion in cruise offerings. As of December 9, the platform's available cruise products increased by nearly 40% year-on-year. Bookings for Southeast Asian routes departing from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong to destinations like Singapore and Bali surged over 120% compared to the same period last year.

In the international cruise market, Mediterranean multi-country itineraries and Persian Gulf routes in the Middle East saw a booking increase of more than 30% year-on-year. Notably, as travelers increasingly seek longer, higher-quality, and more diverse experiences, demand from non-tier-one cities has risen sharply.

TONGCHENGTRAVEL data shows that as of December 9, bookings for international cruise products in cities like Chengdu, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Hefei, and Changsha grew over 200% year-on-year. Smaller cities such as Shangqiu, Luoyang, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing also recorded significant growth in overseas cruise bookings.