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| The Incheon Port International Cruise Terminal opened in April last year, but has shown lackluster performance due to the lasting aftermath of the THAAD deployment. / Courtesy of Incheon Port Authority |
By Jun Ji-hye
The nation's largest cruise terminal located in the city of Incheon has continued to suffer losses as it has hosted fewer ships and passengers than initially expected in the lasting aftermath of China's economic retaliation over Korea's deployment of the U.S. missile defense system, the operator of the terminal said Wednesday.
The disappointing performance is taken seriously in the industry, given that the government poured more than 100 billion won ($85 million) over five years to construct the two-story terminal exclusively for cruise ships with a space of 7,364 square meters in the city's international business district of Songdo.
The Incheon Port International Cruise Terminal officially opened in April 2019.
With the opening of the terminal, the government aimed to attract foreign cruise passengers, particularly Chinese travelers, and boost the underdeveloped domestic industry.
But the terminal is expected to host only 15 cruises with 50,000 passengers this year, according to the Incheon Port Authority.
In 2016, before the deployment of the U.S.-Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in Korea, 62 cruise ships with 165,088 passengers came into the Incheon port.
But the number of cruise ships and passengers that used the port sharply decreased in 2017 to 17 and 29,906 respectively, mainly due to economic retaliation of China, which claimed the THAAD deployment damaged its security interests.
As part of its retaliation, the Chinese government banned group tours to Korea, hitting the tourism industry hard.
Since then, the terminal has failed to restore its performance.
An official from the Incheon Port Authority said the organization is working to increase the number of cruises that use the terminal as their home port.
"We have also made efforts to host cruises from the United States and the United Kingdom in a bid to reduce reliance on Chinese cruises," the official said.
The official cautiously offered a positive outlook that Beijing may end its retaliation against Korea and allow group tours again when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Korea and holds a successful summit with President Moon Jae-in this year.
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