Location characteristics of cruise terminals in China: A lesson from Hong Kong and Shanghai

Starting from the late 1960s, the cruise industry has appeared in two key regions, namely Europe and North America. However, the cruise industry has undergone fundamental changes which implies that the number of frequent cruisers is growing, with western travelers supposedly travelling to diverse cultures, attractive cruising destinations and exotic experiences in Southeast Asia for western travelers, and thus cruising in the Asian region has been happening at an enormous growing rate. Among the Asian regions, China is experiencing the fastest growth rates. Both Hong Kong and Shanghai established two cruise terminals which can be described as homeport cities in the 21st centuries. However, Hong Kong and Shanghai cruise terminals need to deal with neighboring competitors like Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, just to name but a few, in a challenging and dynamic environment. In order to examine Hong Kong and Shanghai's potential evolution into an international cruise terminal hub, we suggest Connectivity, Regional Competitiveness, Utilization, Infrastructure, Security, Environmental Management (CRUISE) framework to seize attainable prospect of the external environment and investigate locational characteristics of cruise terminals in Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively. The first mover and sustainable competitive advantage will be performed. Academic and managerial implications of the research findings for cruise terminals are elaborated.