Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration chaired second coordination meeting on transportation at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (16.8.2023)
16.8.2023

Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing, recently convened the second interdepartmental meeting on improving the transportation arrangements for cruise passengers arriving at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (KTCT) and heading to city centre and other destinations. The attending bureaux, departments and agencies included, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the Tourism Commission (TC), the Transport Department, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the KTCT operator. After reviewing the series of facilitation measures taken during the three ship calls last week, the meeting formulated an action plan for the revisit of the Spectrum of the Seas on Saturday (August 19). The Spectrum of the Seas will bring in 4 500 tourists on August 19. Approximately 1 100 of them will participate in shore excursions arranged by the cruise line, and the remaining 3 400 will visit various sightseeing spots mainly by public transport. The TC, the HKTB and the KTCT operator have been in close contact with the cruise line over the past week to jointly formulate suitable transportation arrangements that would enable passengers to disembark smoothly and orderly. As requested by the TC, the cruise line will stagger the disembarkation of passengers, provide passengers with sufficient travel information onboard, and gauge the passengers’ preferences on mode of transportation in advance, so as to facilitate the KTCT operator to make proper arrangements with the help of government departments. As for public transportation, the new arrangements for the day are as follows: (1) Public bus service - the special route 22R (to MTR Kai Tak Station) will continue to operate, and additional staffing and wayfinding will be provided to assist passengers at MTR Kai Tak Station. In addition, two special routes, 20R (to Tsim Sha Tsui) and 25R (to MTR Kwun Tong Station), will be introduced specifically for this ship call. The special bus service will be able to handle 900 passengers every half hour; (2) Shuttle bus service - the three free routes will continue to be provided with increased frequency. The routing of service to Admiralty MTR Station and Garden Road Peak Tram Lower Terminus, as well as that to Mong Kok, will remain unchanged. Owing to the commencement of the abovementioned special bus route 20R to Tsim Sha Tsui, the service originally to Tsim Sha Tsui will be adjusted and will now only stop at the West Kowloon Cultural District and MTR Kowloon Station. The three shuttle bus routes will be able to handle 250 passengers every half hour; and (3) Taxi service - considering that tourists of this ship call will stay in Hong Kong for only one day, we anticipate a large demand for taxi service. In this connection, a host of improvement measures will continue to be implemented, including prior notifications and frequent real-time information through the instant messaging platform, enhanced broadcasting of information through radio channels, and distribution of $50 liquefied petroleum gas cash coupons to taxi drivers picking up passengers at KTCT. For the three calls of the Resorts World One this week on August 16 (Wednesday), August 18 (Friday) and August 20 (Sunday), apart from suitably adjusting the schedules of service of the special bus route 22R and the three free shuttle bus routes according to demand, the transportation service arrangements will by and large remain unchanged, so as to allow the Government to continue to monitor the situation and ensure smooth disembarkation arrangements in a sustained manner. The Government spokesperson said that over the past week, with the Government's intervention, cruise passengers disembarking at KTCT were able to leave the terminal smoothly and were in general satisfied with the arrangements. The spokesperson emphasised the Government attaches great importance to the experience of cruise passengers during their visits in Hong Kong. In this regard, the KTCT operator must, for every single ship call, closely communicate with cruise lines, transportation service operators and travel agents receiving cruise passengers to make appropriate planning and arrangements for embarkation and disembarkation. The TC will actively facilitate the work of the KTCT operator and monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the improvement measures. Ends/Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Issued at HKT 20:47 NNNN