Japan aims to welcome five million cruise passengers per year by 2020. Thanks to the recent rapid growth of Asia’s cruise market, and the subsequent sharp rise in the number of ship calls in Japan, the country is already well on its way to achieving this goal. To ensure it remains on track to meet this target, the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Ports and Harbors Bureau set up a Cruise Promotion Office in 2016. The organisation now plays a key role in promoting Japan’s cruise industry.
One of the key issues facing Japan’s burgeoning cruise sector is that the rate of facility development has not sufficiently caught up with the increase in cruise ship calls. The lack of available berths and passenger terminals has forced some ports to decline reservations.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s Ports and Harbors Bureau has taken various measures to overcome these issues and ensure ports can accept all cruise bookings. For example, the organisation is developing existing quays at some ports, installing new bollards, fenders and piers that can accommodate larger cruise ships. By doing this, the ministry hopes to diversify the country’s cruise port offerings so it can cater to a greater number of inbound visitors with less investment.
In April 2017, the ministry also created a subsidy system that local governments can use to develop mobile passenger boarding bridges and other systems and technologies to make it easier, more convenient and safer for cruise passengers to embark and disembark in Japan’s ports.
Another challenge for Japan is that some ports do not have waiting areas for cruise guests or customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) facilities. Consequently, these procedures must be carried out onboard the cruise ships before passengers disembark, causing unwelcome delays. The ministry has implemented two schemes to kick-start the development of proper CIQ facilities at Japanese ports.
Introduced in 2016, the first is an interest-free money lending support system that enables ports to work with private companies to improve their existing passenger facilities, or construct new ones. The second was launched in 2017 to create partnerships between ports and cruise lines, whereby cruise ship owners or operators that invest in building or refurbishing passenger terminals are given preferential berthing rights when they are open.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ports and Harbors Bureau also works in close collaboration with the Japan Cruise Port Association (JCPA). Founded in 2012, the association acts as a collaboration network for different regions of Japan, helping to promote the country’s cruise sector and lead economic revitalisation through ports.
Members include local government bodies and national port management organisations. Together, the ministry and JCPA organise business talks between domestic and international cruise operators and Japan’s port authorities, and manage a central website that outlines all the available harbour facilities and other tourist information.
Similarly, the Cruise Promotion Office has a contact desk that can provide international cruise operators that are considering calling in Japan with information about each port of call.