Ministry of Transport: Encouraging cruise transport companies to develop long-haul routes such as the Maritime Silk Road and global tours.

On December 5, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism jointly issued the "Several Measures to Further Promote the Development of Cruise Transport and Tourism Services". Among them, it mentions expanding cruise departure routes. Encouraging Chinese-flagged cruise ships to actively develop domestic coastal routes. Foreign-flagged cruise ships approved in accordance with the law can temporarily engage in domestic coastal transportation. Encouraging cruise transport enterprises to develop long routes such as the Maritime Silk Road and global tours. Promoting pilot projects for aimless cruise routes at sea in Shanghai and other places, with provincial transportation authorities and cultural and tourism administrative departments actively coordinating with relevant departments to explore more open and convenient policies in terms of passenger boarding documents, duty-free fuel refueling, and duty-free shop operations. Original text: Notice from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Issuing Several Measures to Further Promote the Development of Cruise Transport and Tourism Services Transportation departments (bureaus, committees) and cultural and tourism departments of provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and all directly affiliated maritime affairs bureaus: We are now issuing the "Several Measures to Further Promote the Development of Cruise Transport and Tourism Services". Please implement it effectively in practice. Ministry of Transport Ministry of Culture and Tourism November 26, 2025 (This document is publicly released) Several Measures to Further Promote the Development of Cruise Transport and Tourism Services In order to implement the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to vigorously stimulate consumption, promote market vitality, cultivate and expand cruise consumption, further promote the development of cruise transport and tourism services, the following measures are formulated. I. Enrich cruise routes and products (1) Expand cruise departure routes. Encourage Chinese-flagged cruise ships to actively develop domestic coastal routes. Foreign-flagged cruise ships approved in accordance with the law can temporarily engage in domestic coastal transportation. Encourage cruise transport enterprises to develop long routes such as the Maritime Silk Road, global tours, etc. Promote pilot projects of aimless cruise routes at sea in Shanghai and other places, provincial transportation authorities, and cultural and tourism administrative departments actively coordinate with relevant departments to explore more open and convenient policies in terms of passenger boarding documents, duty-free fuel refueling, duty-free shop operations, etc. (2) Encourage foreign-flagged cruise ships to visit. Further optimize the application materials for multiple-port calls by foreign-flagged cruise ships in China, implement the entire process online processing; support enterprises to apply for multiple port calls in one application, and the competent authorities will process it in one go. Optimize and adjust the policy of using shore power requirements for visiting cruise ships in the ships' atmospheric pollutant emission control zones, and cruise ships on visiting routes without facilities to receive power can berth in Chinese ports by the end of 2029. (3) Enrich cruise tourism products. Encourage cruise transport enterprises to cooperate with tourism enterprises to enrich onboard services, promote performing arts, exhibitions, cultural and creative industries, health and wellness products into cruises; fully utilize the efficiency of foreign tourist groups entering China on cruise ships through visa-free policies, enrich domestic onshore tourism products, strengthen the connection with high-quality domestic waterway tourism passenger routes; develop new consumption scenarios with "cruise +", create cruise memorabilia, derivative products, and build a gathering place for cruise brands integrating cruise culture, product launches, etc. II. Improve the level of cruise port services (4) Efficiently arrange the entry and exit of cruise ships. Maritime management agencies deepen cooperation with cruise port enterprises, accurately grasp the sailing dynamics of cruise ships, implement traffic organization services of "straight in, direct docking, straight out" for cruise ships, further optimize the passage guarantee measures for ultra-large cruise ships in the Yangtze River Estuary, etc.; after the lift of traffic control in inclement weather, strengthen key protection for the entry and exit of cruise ships. (5) Standardize and enhance port services. Cruise port enterprises and relevant units should implement the "Port Charges Calculation Method" and the fee schedule and public disclosure system well, encourage cruise port enterprises to cooperate with cruise transport enterprises in a mutually beneficial manner. Cruise ships can enjoy exemption policies different from cargo ships. Transportation authorities actively seek support from local governments for cruise port enterprises to provide shore power and other facilities. Guide cruise port enterprises to provide facilities for setting up departure tax refund shops, duty-free shops, tax refund agent counters, foreign exchange counters, and facilities for international cruise ship berthing supplies, as well as improving multilingual services and consumption facilities. (6) Promote the efficiency of cruise clearance. Maritime management agencies organize port inspection units to optimize the approval process for entry and exit of cruise ships at ports, expedite the procedures for cruise ships entering and exiting ports, fully implement electronic declaration for cruise ships entering and exiting ports, and jointly implement boarding inspections. Transportation authorities actively cooperate with border inspection agencies to provide convenient customs clearance services for visiting cruise ships, and guide cruise transport enterprises and cruise port enterprises to actively carry out passenger-convenient self-service check-in. III. Improve the efficiency of cruise management services (7) Optimize the cruise registration system. Maritime management agencies study further simplifying the international ship registration procedures for the "Yangpu" China register, optimizing the ship inspection process. Encourage Chinese-funded cruise ships to fully utilize the tax incentives in the Hainan Free Trade Port to register in the "Yangpu" China register. (8) Improve the quality of cruise tourism services. Transportation authorities, cultural and tourism administrative departments should guide cruise transport enterprises, cruise port enterprises, travel agencies, online travel platforms, industry associations to jointly improve the quality of services in ticket services, passenger embarkation and disembarkation, onboard service personnel services, travel agency reception, onshore tourism, etc. Cruise transport enterprises involved in bundled tourism operations during operation should obtain corresponding travel agency business qualifications. Encourage various regions to actively apply for pilot projects for the construction of a strong country in transportation around the high-quality development of cruise transport, support typical practices of cruise transport enterprises to be included in typical cases of integrated development of transportation and tourism. IV. Strengthen safety and security services for cruise transport (9) Strengthen cruise transport safety. Transportation authorities, maritime management agencies should work together with cultural and tourism administrative departments to promote the organization and coordination of relevant departments by local governments to strengthen safety management according to their responsibilities, establish a linkage mechanism, strengthen information and resource sharing, and ensure the safety of cruise transportation. Transportation authorities, maritime management agencies should carry out supervision and service guarantee work on cruise transport safety according to the requirements of the "one ship, one policy" plan for large cruise ships; encourage cruise transport enterprises to increase the training of senior Chinese cruise ship crew. (10) Improve the emergency response mechanism for cruise ships. Transportation authorities, maritime management agencies should promote local governments to improve emergency plans, strengthen emergency preparedness, timely update and improve large-scale cruise ship rescue action plans, promote timely updates and improvements to the passenger ship search and rescue cooperation plans for cruise ships and cruise transport enterprises, carry out various forms of exercises and drills on a regular basis, enhance the emergency response capabilities of cruise ship emergencies. This article is taken from the Ministry of Transport, GMTEight Editor: Chen Wenfang.