Sustainability of

Cruise Tourism

Development in

Hong Kong

An analysis into the sustainability of cruise

tourism in Hong Kong from a social,

environmental and economic perspective

Sha Tin Methodist College

Chan Chee Sam, Chan Man Chin, Chau Tak Huen

Mak Sze Chai, Ng Yuen Lam, Tsang Hoi Lam

Yam Pui Yan, Yeung Chung Wai

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Table of Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2

A.Concept of Cruise Tourism .............................................................................................. 4

1.As a mean of transport ...................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Economic Perspective .................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Socio-cultural perspective .............................................................................................. 5

1.3Environmental perspective .............................................................................................. 6

2.Sustainability of cruise tourism as a mean of hospitality business ................................... 7

2.1 Economic perspective .................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Socio-cultural perspective .............................................................................................. 8

2.3 Environmental perspective ............................................................................................. 9

B.Cruise industry in Hong Kong ....................................................................................... 10

3.1 Economic perspective .................................................................................................. 10

3.2 Socio-cultural perspective ............................................................................................ 11

3.3 Environmental perspective .......................................................................................... 14

Advocacy --- Green Cruises, an Ideal Form of Travelling .............................................. 17

Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. 21

References .......................................................................................................................... 21

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Introduction

Over the few past decades, Hong Kong has always been regarded as a

premier tourist destination. With its unique skyline and skyscrapers, thousands

of tourists are attracted to seek a peek into the world-known Pearl of the Orient

each year. The city’s tourism sector, being one of the major pillars supporting

our strong economy, plays a significant role in nearly every aspect of the SAR.

Regardless of the fact that the tourism industry is currently dependent on

Mainlanders across the border, a new direction has been set up --- developing

Hong Kong as a homeport or port-of-call for cruise ships.

In response with public support towards promoting cruise industry, the SAR

government announced its plan of constructing an integrated and well-equipped

port, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in August 2008. This created a milestone for

the development of cruise industry in Hong Kong by sharpening it into a more

competitive one in the region. As per the American Association of Port

Authorities by Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, the cruise industry has

made an impressive annual growth of 7.4 % since 1980, with up to 20,335,000

passengers in 2013 alone. By solely reading these figures and statistics, cruise

industry seems to be panacea for solving the existent problems in the tourism

sector, bringing in loads of advantages to the city.

It cannot be denied that cruise tourism is growing at a rapid speed,

nonetheless, it is disputable whether it is sustainable to develop this new form of

tourism. A shocking truth was revealed in December 2013, in which the Marine

of the seas, as the first cruise berthing the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, arrived

Hong Kong. The short inflow of cruise tourists ended up in not a round of

praises and exclamation, yet plenty of complaint and discontent towards the

lack of infrastructure, transport and tourist attractions, which was against the

expectation of most people. This alerted Hongkongeres of the hidden

complications and negative impact involved in cruise tourism while enlightened

us all to think deeply into the feasibility of cruise tourism in the city. Inspired by

the incident, our team has decided to investigate the sustainability of cruise

tourism in Hong Kong.

Sustainability was defined as a “development that meets the needs of the

present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their

own needs” by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and

Development (WCED). With an increasing awareness towards environmental

conservation, it is essential to exploit resources with consideration regarding the

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action’s long-term sustainability. We believe that it is our responsibility to raise

the living standard of citizens without causing disruptions and negative

influences to different aspects of the globe, as well as our next generation, so as

to ensure the continuation of mankind. To dig into the whole of cruise industry,

we are going to first study the concept of cruise tourism itself, then its practical

development in Hong Kong from economic, socio-cultural and environmental

perspectives

The above figure shows the plan for the Kai Tak Development Scheme

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A. Concept of Cruise Tourism

“… [Cruise tourism is a] pleasure voyage, where the voyage itself and the

ship's amenities are a part of the experience, as well as the different destinations

along the way. Transportation is not the prime purpose, as cruise ships operate

mostly on routes that return passengers to their originating port, so the ports of

call are usually in a specified region of a continent. There are even "cruises to

nowhere" or "nowhere voyages" where the ship makes 2-3 day round trips

without any ports of call…” - Wikipedia

The above quote has summed up the main idea of cruise tourism, a mean of

transport and also an entertainment program itself. Cruise nowadays are

equipped with state of the art entertainment facilities, some may even possess a

cinema. It is often disputed that whether cruise tourism is sustainable or in the

stark opposite, that it is a consumerist resource-waster which only focuses on

the luxury on board while polluting and trashing anywhere it goes. In the

following parts, we will explore cruise tourism’s conceptual lucrativeness and

also some painful setbacks it may bring to our economy, socio-culture and

above all, our mother nature.

1. As a mean of transport

First and foremost, we will look into the conceptual sustainability of cruise

tourism by considering it as a mean of transport. The following parts illustrate

the impact of cruise tourism from an economic, socio-cultural and

environmental aspect.

1.1 Economic Perspective

As previously described, transportation is not the premier purpose of cruise

tourism, as most of the cruise vessels return passengers to their originating port

after a round trip. Nevertheless, the growth of cruise tourism is believed to

disrupt normal cargo shipping in countries with integrated ports. According to

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The impacts of the cruise industry on tourism destinations by JUAN GABRIEL

BRIDA – SANDRA ZAPATA AGUIRRE, the inevitable inflow of cruise vessels

seeking for wafer fabrication or oil refining may lead to a competition between

cruise ships and container vessels for port space. Although cargo shipping and

cruise travelling require two entirely different ports, many integrated ports

nowadays have merged the two elements and attract both of the large vessels.

Since cruise ships can bring direct revenue to local businessmen (to be

explained in details in the following parts), they are more welcome by society.

As per the report, this made it hard for some container ships to berth and start

normal products delivery. By considering the economic impact brought by

cruise ships as means of transport, the possibility of disturbing normal products

exportation and importation can be seen. As a result, the economy of such

countries may be adversely affected, not to mention its possible troubles

brought to community as a result of the lack of imported goods.

1.2 Socio-cultural perspective

Firstly, sociologically, cruise tourism is mainly used as travelling instead of

any other commercial use. A cruise contains mainly entertainments for people

to enjoy during their trip like swimming pools, cinemas etc. A cruise tour

mostly last for a week or at least one to two days, it travels from place to place

by a cruise and people are not spending much time at each destination, but

spending time mostly on the cruise. A seven-day trip costs differently

depending on where you are travelling but usually cost around $15000

to$30000 HK dollars for each trip, paying for all those entertainments and of

course for the fuel used in a cruise. A seven-day trip can be as expensive as a

round trip flight ticket. Going for a cruise trip really costs a lot and not many

people can afford paying such huge amount of money, therefore mostly rich

people would go for a cruise trip. It can be seen that cruise tourism is not really

universal due to the cost. Therefore, socio-culturally, cruise tourism is

considered an exclusive enjoyment for only the most privileged and wealthy

class, barring the majority of the world from having a taste of this

resources-waster. To say the least, cruise tourism illustrates and to some extent

widens the gap between the rich and the poor.

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1.3Environmental perspective

During a cruise trip, tourists take the cruise as their hotel, which provides

water use, food, entertainment etc. These kinds of activities may produce a huge

amount of waste in terms of water, sewage etc. In the meantime, there is no

restriction on releasing wastes in public sea, which refers to sea zones apart

from the sovereign waters and some exclusive economic zones (EEZ). For

example, the waste water coming from showering can be freely discharged to

the public sea. These untreated wastes from either daily usage or entertainment

will certainly cause water pollution, causing the phenomenon of ‘grey water’

which means the area of water is being polluted and cannot be clearly seen.

Moreover, in terms of solid waste, cruise tourism also enhances this problem.

Cruise tourism is a luxurious element and would fulfill all wishes of tourists in

terms of food, relaxing entertainment, special goods etc. For sure, to maintain

the ‘beauty’ and ‘freshness’ of each good, solid waste will be easily produced,

which is not environmental friendly and cause pressure on the government on

dealing with all those solid waste. Cited from Wikipedia, “the volume of wastes

produced (by a cruise ship) and requiring disposal is greater than that of many

small cities on land”, thus a cruise is also known as a ‘floating city’.

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The above figure shows a typical cruise ship.

2. Sustainability of cruise tourism as

a mean of hospitality business

The above part shows that cruise tourism, as a mean of transport, is

unsustainable in all three aspects. Apart from this, a cruise usually provides

guests various services, including dining, accommodations, and other onboard

activities like live band performance, spa & fitness, bars & clubs, and casino &

gaming, all related to hospitality business. Thus, we are now going to further

look into the industry by considering is as a mean of hospitality business from

an economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspect.

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2.1 Economic perspective

Hospitality business of cruise is necessary. Firstly, a better quality of service

of the cruise will brought a better profit to the company. Since better quality of

service, more customers would like to patronize. And so a better income to the

company. Secondly, the tax of hospitality business will help the economic

growth. The tax of hospitality business includes prepared meals and beverages

sold in or by the cruise, or those licensed for on-premises consumption of

alcoholic beverages, beer, or wine. Thirdly, while the cruise ship is anchored off

in some harbor, the cruise line would usually arrange their guests to some

shopping mall or resort. This stimulates local consumption and help the

economic growth. Fourthly, when the tourist went to another country by cruise

tourism, they are paying taxes. And it helps the economic growth of other

countries.

2.2 Socio-cultural perspective

Cruise vessels are all-in-one entertainment bodies which provide passengers

catering, accommodation and entertainment at same time. Thanks to the

enormous size of cruise ships, passengers are free to gamble, shop, watch

movies, and listen to concerts all in the same space. As previously described,

the target customers of cruise line companies are mostly the wealthiest class, the

most luxurious experience is provided. To name an example, you can easily find

designer brands and Michelin star restaurants onboard. The deluxe experience

brought by cruise ships may give rise and further encourage materialism in

society, which is the excessive desire to acquire and consume material goods.

The promotion of materialism is believed to be bringing negative influences to

the core value of a generation, persuading people to blindly pursue material

goods. In a nutshell, cruise industry promotes materialism, which may push our

society into extreme for material products.

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2.3 Environmental perspective

Followed by the rising of materialism and increasing of living standard,

people pursue for a superior quality and top grade of cuisines in cruise ships.

The waste of food will increase as buffets and all sorts of food are offered free

of charge onboard. Kitchen waste is organic waste which is easy to perish. It

will generate a lot of greenhouse gases such as methane and highly pollute leach

sewage which seriously affecting the environment. Meanwhile, cruise ships are

operated with the air-conditioners and light on 24/7, which create a huge

electricity demand. Apart from the electricity and food wastage, the amount of

fuel required to move a cruise ship with such an enormous size and numerous

facilities is large. For example, for the Queen Elizabeth 2, 1 gallon (3.8L) of

sulphur fuel can only support travelling a maximum distance of mere 625 feet

(190m), which is much higher than motor vehicles.

In a nutshell, by considering cruise tourism as a mean of transport, we can

see that though cruise tourism brings economic benefit, it fails to bring positive

impact socio-culturally and environmentally. Since cruise travelling cannot

strike a balance between economy, society and our environment, it is

conceptually regarded as unsustainable.

The above figure shows the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal

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B. Cruise industry in Hong Kong

After exploring the conceptual sustainability of cruise tourism as both means

of transport and hospitality business, we will investigate its practical application

and development in Hong Kong in the following section.

3.1 Economic perspective

From an economic perspective, cruise tourism can bring many business

opportunities to Hong Kong which benefits the economy and helps increase its

international competitive strength.

Firstly tourists brought by the cruise ships will stay in Hong Kong for a

while going shopping, buying all kinds of local products, souvenirs or

sightseeing. As these favor the business of local restaurants, hotels and shops,

they bring along business opportunities for the local retail business, catering and

service industry.

Tourists will also go sightseeing, visiting the local landmarks or highlights

such as the Big Buddha and the Peak. Especially Kwun Tong and Lei Yue Mun

as they are near to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, the new terminal that can berth

the largest cruise ship in the world. This favors not only the local tourism, but

also the local business.

The transport system also gets benefits from the tourists. A good transport

system is the key to success of tourism. Both taxis, light buses or buses can

benefit from the bursting tourists. They also help spread the tourists to all parts

of Hong Kong. An example is the mini-bus no.86, especially arranged for

picking up tourists from the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal to many tourist attractions.

Holiday lines will also be scheduled so that the bus or taxi company can earn

more.

Secondly cruise tourism also provides job opportunities for the local people.

As cruise ships will enter and berth at the terminal for a while, cruise supplies,

maintenance needs engineers for repairing and giving supplies. Port

management personnel are also needed to run the business and workers for the

hotels, restaurants, shops and drivers. They are necessary in order to serve the

tourists. At the same time more tour guides are needed introduce the sights to

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the tourists and lead the tour. With more job opportunities, the economy is

raised.

Thirdly, the spending of cruise ships can also bring benefits the economy,

including gas filling, berths fee, pilotage fee, food procurement, maritime

essential consumer goods and clean water etc. The fee is large and it certainly

can benefits the economy of Hong Kong

Plus Hong Kong is between Singapore and Shanghai, Tianjin and other cities.

It is known as “the South Gate” of China. It is also a popular tourist spot of

Mainland visitors. This increases the schedule of the cruise ships and favors the

economic growth in Hong Kong.

According to the news, the government expects the new Kai Tak Terminal

will have an economical benefit of 1500 to 2600 million dollars per year, this

benefits the economy and helps increase its international competitive strength.

From now till the end of 2016, the Kai Tak cruise terminal operator has

received 59 application for berth, about one hundred and three days in total. It is

expected that there will be more cruise ships entering Hong Kong in the future

years. In a nutshell, cruise tourism can fit into the characteristics of Hong Kong

and favors the economic development of the city, bringing in revenue and

increasing economic strength.

3.2 Socio-cultural perspective

As per the Hong Kong Tourism Board, cruise passengers contributed to

about one tenth of the total number of tourists in 2009. With the completion of

the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in 2014, an influx of cruise ship tourists is

expected in the foreseeable future. In order to examine the sustainability of

cruise industry from a socio-cultural perspective, we are going to discuss the

interaction between the mounts of tourists and the local community below

Currently, Mainlanders have the highest percentage share in the total number

of tourists. It is believed that developing Hong Kong as a major home port in

the region can attract a large variety of tourists from around the world, bringing

in diversity into the city’s tourism sector. This can create more opportunities for

residents nearby to interact and communicate with foreign cultures. Through a

two-way communication, it is believed that negative perception and stereotype

towards certain cultures can be minimized with an appreciation towards others’

customs and traditions. Like many other forms of tourism around the world,

successful cruise tourism can facilitate the promotion of various cultures in

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Hong Kong, increasing citizens’ understanding and awareness of cultures

worldwide. Hopefully, cruise tourism can develop a sense of tolerance for

different value and stances, encouraging mutual cultural exchange and respect.

Secondly, developing cruise industry is believed to give rise to the sense of

community of the local. Sense of community, as a psychological concept

developed in early 1970s, was defined as “the perception of similarity to others,

an acknowledged interdependence with others, a willingness to maintain this

interdependence by giving to or doing for others what one expects from them,

and the feeling that one is part of a larger dependable and stable structure” by

psychologist Seymour B. Sarason. The cruise industry, a form of popular

tourism, includes the idea of sightseeing and visiting tourist destinations such as

monuments and museums. As tourism presents outsiders a glimpse into the

country’s most breath-taking sceneries or extravaganzas, further boosting the

city’s cruise tourism can build up a sense of pride and satisfaction in the local

community. Just to name an example, Brazil throws the Rio Carnival, a world

famous festival with plenty of adornments, Samba dance and excitement

annually. The carnival attracts millions of tourists each year, and in the

meantime, promotes the unique culture of Brazil to people around the world,

implanting a sense of belong to the local district, country and nation in the

Brazilians. Similarly, while the beautiful skyline of the Victoria Harbor is

shown to cruise tourists, a sense of belonging, as well as the local identity of

being a proud resident in the HK SAR, can be developed.

Nonetheless, apart from the positive socio-cultural impact, cruise industry

can also bring about unimaginable complications and setbacks. Recently, with

an increment in the yearly number of tourists, concern regarding Hong Kong’s

tourism carrying capacity has arisen. In accordance with Middleton and

Hawkins Chamberlain (1997), tourism carrying capacity refers to “the level of

human activity an area can accommodate without the area deteriorating, the

resident community being adversely affected or the quality of visitors

experience declining”. To say the least, the tourism carrying capacity of a city is

closely related to the level of tourists’ satisfaction, as well as citizens’ quality of

life.

To start with, it is doubtful whether the city has enough tourist attractions.

As per the Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists

conducted by the SAR government, an enormous one hundred millions of

tourists are expected in 2030. With the quick development of cruise tourism, an

influx of cruise tourists is soon expected, further boosting the number of

travellers. While the number of tourists has been rising in recent years, there is

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no new tourist attractions offered. Meanwhile, the choices available for tourists

are limited to shopping, sightseeing and theme parks, leaking a variety of

activities such as exploring local history, educational programmes and extreme

sports. The narrow choice for such a mass tourists has resulted in the

overcrowding condition in popular tourist attractions with all people cramming

in the same district. Overcrowding in tourist destinations like theme parks will

cause long queues, services of poor quality and insufficient personal resources,

eventually leading to tourists’ dissatisfaction and discontent. If then, the Hong

Kong’s reputation may even be adversely affected with a decrement in the

tourism income.

Aside from the inadequate tourist attractions, the influx of cruise tourists is

also closely related to the use of infrastructure in Hong Kong. What cruise

tourists need apart from hardware is “software” including a public transport

system connecting the whole city. Currently, with such a large amount of

tourists rushing into Hong Kong every day, our transport system has to bear to

heavy burden of both the local and tourists. This leads to a decline in the quality

of life for Hongkongers as there will be a longer waiting time for nearly every

public service. Although it cannot the denied that the inflow of cruise tourists

can generate a large sum of revenue, it is doubtful whether local residents can

directly benefit from the growing industry. As per “the Economic and Social

Impact of Tourism” by Batir Mirbabayev and Malika Shagazatova, for most

all-inclusive package tours, more than 80% of travellers’ fees go to the airlines,

hotels and international companies, instead of local businessmen and workers.

Under this condition, since the local fail feel the advantages of introducing

cruise tourism, yet suffers disruption caused by travellers, they tend to go

against the idea and in some extreme cases, develop resentment towards tourists.

The discontent of local communities in Hong Kong may then be intensified and

causes social instability.

Last but not least, there may be a loss of authenticity in Hong Kong. As

previously mentioned, the inflow of cruise tourists worldwide can be a new

source of income for Hong Kong, nevertheless, the emerging market of cruise

tourists can also be a cause for the loss of local culture and characteristics. Since

it is essential to create a friendly and comfortable environment for tourists from

around the world, it is unavoidable to twist local culture and tradition so as to fit

or please tourists while trying to earn from them. Furthermore, once Hong Kong

becomes a hot tourist destination for cruise tourists in the South-east Asia

region (it is already one now), multi-national companies will be attracted to set

up offices here. Then old stalls with our unique culture and a long history may

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be replaced by numerous chain stores like McDonald and H&M, which are

identical everywhere in the world.

To wrap up the scene, a proper development of cruise industry does bring

positive influences to society. However, more often, cruise industry leads to a

drop in the living standard of the local, as well as a loss of local culture and

authenticity in Hong Kong.

3.3 Environmental perspective

First off, cruise ships occupy a big percentage of emission of air pollutants

Ocean-going ships release most of the emissions of pollutants, but the actual

figure has not been announced. According to the Hong Kong Maritime ship

emissions inventory commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency

stud, container ships and cruise ships are major emitters, compared to inland

vessels and local vessels, having the largest ocean-going vessel emissions.

Specifically, 79% of sulfur dioxide and 68% RSP are from ocean-going vessels.

Among different types of ocean-going vessels, the one that have the second

largest air pollutant emission is cruise. They account for 9% of sulfur dioxide

emissions, 11% of nitrogen oxides and 9% respirable suspended particulates

However, more and more cruise going to the new cruise terminal will bring

bad air quality to Hong Kong. When cruise ships are berthed, power

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consumption are generally very high . Although Vessels usually turn off the

main engine when parked, auxiliary engines and boilers will continue to provide

electricity and heat for the passengers and crew. Due to most cruises ships have

been using high -sulfur fuel oil to produce electricity and heat, the auxiliary

engines and air pollutant emissions of boilers and other equipment is very high.

As a result, Hongkongers may have to suffer from health problems. The new

cruise terminal is close to residential areas. People are very concerned about

the cruise emissions of air pollutants. They worried that the wind direction of

flowing air pollutants will be affected by quarterly Festival and direction and

blow to the adjacent areas .It is known that inhaling these air pollutants will

cause health problem to people. For example, inhaling sulfur dioxide is

associated with increased respiratory symptoms and disease, difficulty in

breathing, and premature death. In addition, respirable suspended particulates at

high level may cause chronic and acute effects on human health, particularly the

pulmonary function, as they can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause

respiratory problems. Also, the air quality is lowered when the amount of these

air pollutants increases as one of these pollutants , NOx gases react to

form smog and acid rain as well as being central to the formation

of tropospheric ozone. Then, air quality and the health of local residents will be

affected when the level of the air pollutants’ emission are not lowered at this

moment.

Now, we are going to investigate policies on the above issue. Many shipping

industries switch to the sulfur content of no more than 0.5% sulfur fuel which

has brought significant emission reduction to Hong Kong.

The government applaud this effort from the shipping industry, and in

response, the government launched the incentive scheme in September 2012 to

reduce by half the port facilities and light dues of those OGV that switched to

the cleaner fuel while at berth. In fact, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying

announced the decision of the government that they enact legislation to require

offshore boat to transfer oil while berthing in Hong Kong in his first policy

address.

Table: 2007 and 2012 cruise emission estimates ( tons )

Year SO2 NOx RSP

2,007 1,145 1,598 132

2,012 867 1,287 97

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From the data, we can see that cruise is one of the major cause of

nowadays ’s Hong Kong bad air condition. It occupy a really big sector of

emission of air pollutants. It is caused by the non-environmental friendly fuels

they used and the increasing number of ships that make the condition worse.

Although the situation seems to be improved now, it is still not good enough to

keep Hong Kong free from serious air pollution.

From the above data, we can see that implementing effective policies is

useful to lower the serious situation of air pollutant emission .However, it is

also seen that the force of the policies that have implemented is still not strong

enough to solve the environmental problem as the emission of air pollutants by

cruise vessels remains high. The above part has explored the air pollution

caused by cruise industry in Hong Kong, apart from this, the construction of the

Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, as part of the development scheme, is also to be

considered. We would like to study it mainly in three areas: water pollution; air

pollution and waste problems.

Firstly, about the water pollution, building the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal would

bring ill effects on the water of Hong Kong. When the cruises are driving into

the terminal, it will change the original movement of water. Once the movement

of water has been changed, the habitat of the living things in the water will be

changed. As the living things have already adapted to the environment, if the

movement has been changed too readily, they will be sick or even die because

of it. For example, the Chinese White Dolphin will be affected. As the cruise

terminal will be built at the Kai Tak Airport old site, it is near the habitat of

Chinese White Dolphin. Chinese White Dolphin is a species that is being

protected by the government. it is a special and valuable species and the

terminal would destroy it.

Also, there may be another problem. For the cruises, they will use fuel. Even if

cleaner fuel is used, there is still a potential danger that oil spill may happen.

There was quite a lot oil spill accident happened before on ferries or cruises of

different countries. In addition, these accidents brings many negative effects to

the oceans, these effects are still harming the environment and living things. For

example, Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 is believed to be the most serious oil

spill incident. Many animals have died because of this. Although many years

have passed, the oil spill still affected the undersea animals. It shows that it is

possible to have oil spill. Oil spill is the spilling of oil due to the damage of the

body of the cruise. The spilled oil is thick and sticky, it will block the sunlight

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and oxygen from getting into the water and the animals cannot breathe normally

and finally died. In case of Hong Kong, although there may not be such large

scale of destruction, it still affects the environment and living things.

Thirdly, while building the terminal, the construction has produced many

suspended sediment that damages the water quality seriously. Those sediment

are usually sand, stones and mud, these will make the water become unclear and

dirty, it is possible to threaten the lives of animals. Aside from that, the

temperature of the water may be risen by the heated water released by the

cruises for cooling down use. Although it may not be very harmful at once, but

for a long stand, it is dangerous to have the temperature risen as the habitat of

animals is directly being threatened.

The above shows that the construction of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal will

further add bulk to Hong Kong’s environment, revealing the negative

environmental impact of developing cruise tourism here in general

Advocacy – Green Cruises, Your Ideal Form of Travelling

As mentioned in the introduction, sustainable development [is defined as

development meeting the present needs of the human race without affecting our

future generations meeting their needs. It] compromises the following three

aspects: Environment, Society and Economy. Note that a development will

become unsustainable if it disobeys any one of the aspects. Based on this

definition and the study above, a conclusion on the sustainability of developing

cruise tourism in Hong Kong can be drawn, which it is found to be

unsustainable due to the following reasons.

To get started, for the environment aspect, cruises industry contributes the

second largest emission of air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and [Respiratory

Suspending Particles RSPs in Hong Kong due to the using of high sulfur

content fuels, and brings harmful effect to the future residents in Kai Tak and

nearby residents. In fact, the government has launched polices persuading

cruises to use low sulfur content fuels during berthing. However, the costs using

low sulfur content fuels is tremendously expensive than the present high sulfur

content fuels, [while concerning the compatibility of low sulfur fuels in cruises,]

not many present active cruises are using low sulfur content fuels. Knowing the

city is planning to be a mother port of cruises, the pollution may be intensified

when more cruises visit the city which is possible in the future.

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Critics have often bashed tourism as a mean of tourism that is purely

unsustainable and can only be enjoyed by the rich instead of the general public.

In the previous sections, it also proven that Hong Kong has not secured the

necessary capacity to handle these tourists. While it is indisputable that this line

of “conventional” cruise tourism is not something that we should indoctrinate,

yet we shall at least provide a kind of viable alternative to this mean of tourism.

Currently, cruise liners have a capacity of up to 6000 passengers at once. This

has created a significant environmental problem to the mother hub, visiting

cities and the international waters. Due to this colossal amount of passengers

simultaneously appearing at a place, the local ecosystem or society may not be

able to handle. It is legal under the international law to dump wastes in any

waters other than the sovereign waters or some designated areas of the EEZ.

Therefore, it has often been debated that cruise tourism will pollute the waters

of a area. Also in developing nations, a receiving hub may not have enough

facilities to accommodate all tourists. In Panama, there was a parliamentary

inquiry about the handling capacity in some of its terminals since over

capacities were observed. Using this train of thought, it is extremely reasonable

that cruise ships should reduce its size for the sake of the environment.

On the other hand, it is also indisputable that the culture of tourism can be

summed up with extravagance and luxury. The general public was often barred

from enjoying the joy of cruise tourism due to its high price. Cruise liners

should be more modest with a suitable amount of entertainment on board. In the

current ages, the size and the degree of luxury has increased exponentially.

Nowadays, restaurants on a cruise liner can handle 2 times of all of the

personnel and customers on board. Meaning that a lot of space and of course,

food is wasted. Ipso facto, a general reduction in size can help to achieve a

lower causing and eventually, a higher participation.

Apart from this, we believe that there are still plenty of miscellaneous measures

the cruise line companies and the SAR government can carry out in order to

make the industry sustainable. The details are shown in the next page.

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Suggestions Aspects Problems Suggestions Pros

Environm

ent A. Polluted water

discharged

Use it for generating

electricity

1. Polluted water may not

affect the habitats of

animals

B. Food waste

produced

Upcycle the food waste as

organic substance (e.g.

detergents)

1. Reduce the amount of

waste discharged

2. Food on-board will not be

wasted but become useful

to the cruise e.g. detergents

produced from kitchen

wastes can clean the floor

and facilities of the cruise.

C. Air pollution Reject cruises using high

sulfur content fuels through

administrative order.

1. To ensure a better air

quality for the surrounding

residents.

20

Socio-culture D. Loss of

authenticity

Develop more tourist

attractions related to Hong

Kong’s unique culture. (e.g.

Walled village)

1. Evenly distribute tourists to

other local attractions, i.e.

to solve the present

overcrowded popular

attractions at root, giving

more attraction options for

cruises tourist to choose.

2. Maintain the local peoples’

own tradition while benefit

3. from tourism, including

cruise tourists.

E. Hongkongers’

quality of life

is affected

Arrange more shuttle

buses to tourist attractions

4. Public transport can run

smoother

Economy F. No direct benefit

brought to the

local

Hire local people to work

on local cruises lines.

1. Giving job opportunities to

local people while not leaving

their hometown for a long time.

2. Encourage culture

exchange on-board; promote local

culture and customs to tourists,

creating a “win-win” situation.

21

With the above suggestions, we are looking forward to adding sustainable

elements into cruise tourism. Hopefully, with the constant support of the

industry, our government and every individual, we will be able to achieve

GREEN CRUISES ---- YOUR IDEAL FORM OF TRAVELLING.

Acknowledgement

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the supervision teacher,

Mrs. Yu, as well as our beloved mentor, Giny, for their constant support and

encouragement. Our project will not have been possible without them.

Meanwhile, the support of our families and friends means a lot. We are grateful

to be blessed with all of the above role models.

References

1. Cruise Ship Industry Statistics (www.statisticbrain.com/cruise-ship-industry-statistics)

2. The impacts of the cruise industry on tourism destinations by Juangabriel Brida

3. Hong Kong Maritime ship emissions inventory commissioned by the Environmental

Protection Agency study

4. Wikipedia – Cruise Industry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruise_ship)