TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Port of Kaohsiung is set to see a rise in cruise ship activity this year, with 115 cruise ship calls projected.
That figure is nearly double the 59 recorded in 2024, according to Taiwan International Ports Corp. Of the expected calls, 42 cruises plan to use Kaohsiung as a homeport, while 73 will make port calls.
International cruise passenger arrivals are estimated to exceed 170,000 in 2025, up from about 90,000 last year, according to CNA.
To encourage cruise operators to include Kaohsiung on their itineraries, TIPC has rolled out new incentives. These include a full waiver of passenger service fees for homeport cruises and a 50% discount on those fees for cruise lines that make at least five calls at the port within the year.
Passenger service fees are charges levied on cruise operators, typically based on passenger count, to cover services such as customs, immigration, and terminal operations. Homeports, which serve as both the starting and ending points for cruises, typically involve higher operational demands than ports of call.
An analysis by the Institute of Transportation found that cruise homeports can generate 10 to 14 times more local economic activity than ports of call, as passengers and crew tend to spend significantly more on accommodations, dining, shopping, and transportation. The study estimates that each cruise passenger contributes more than NT$21,543 (US$726) to the local economy when the port serves as a homeport.
International cruise traffic at the Port of Kaohsiung has fluctuated in recent years. Due to the COVID pandemic, cruise ship calls and passenger arrivals dropped to zero in 2022. In 2023, the port rebounded to a record 133 calls and 180,574 passengers, before declining again in 2024 to 59 calls and 90,805 passengers.
