Incheon is rolling out a mid- to long-term plan to handle a booming surge in cruise traffic at Incheon Port.
On the 10th, city officials held a meeting of the Cruise Industry Development Committee in the Nanum meeting room at City Hall. Representatives from relevant agencies and industry experts gathered to review the Second Five-Year Plan for developing Incheon's cruise industry and the 2026 plan to revitalize it.
The meeting aimed to map out long-term strategies to position Incheon as a Northeast Asian cruise hub as cruise calls at the port spike.
With recent shifts in the global landscape and a rebound in cruise operations, Incheon now expects 133 cruise calls this year—more than four times last year's 32—bringing roughly 200,000 visitors.
Officials discussed upgrading tourism infrastructure and smoothing visitor services to better welcome the growing tide of cruise travelers.
The five-year plan highlights core priorities: targeted marketing to attract cruises, creating distinctive tourism experiences, strengthening the city's readiness to host cruise visitors, and building a sustainable cruise-industry ecosystem.
In partnership with the Incheon Tourism Organization, the city will beef up tourist information services for cruise passengers and operate free shuttle buses linking key attractions such as the cruise terminal, Sangsang Platform, and Songdo.
Officials also noted a rise in both "homeport" calls—where passengers embark and disembark—and "overnight" calls—where ships stay at port for one or more nights—resulting in longer visitor stays. They agreed on the need to develop stay-focused tourism offerings that turn extended visits into local spending.
At the same time, the city plans to foster a virtuous cycle by developing region-specific tourism products and nurturing related industries so the cruise sector can become a new growth engine for the local economy.
Shin Jae-kyung, Incheon's deputy mayor for global city affairs, said, "We'll seize this surge in cruise demand as an opportunity to become a Northeast Asian cruise hub. We want cruise visitors to leave feeling that Incheon is a city they'd love to visit again."
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