Incheon City is rolling out a mid-to-long-term development plan to meet booming cruise demand.
On the 10th, the city convened the Cruise Industry Development Committee in the City Hall Sharing Conference Room and, together with relevant agencies and experts, reviewed the Second Five-Year Plan for nurturing Incheon’s cruise industry and the 2026 Incheon Cruise Industry Revitalization Plan.
With cruise calls surging, the city aims to position Incheon as a Northeast Asian cruise hub. Thanks to shifts in the global landscape and a rebound in sailings, Incheon expects 133 cruise calls this year—more than four times last year’s 32—which could bring roughly 200,000 visitors.
To handle the influx, officials plan to upgrade tourism infrastructure and improve visitor amenities so the city can comfortably accommodate more cruise travelers.
The five-year plan highlights several priorities: targeted marketing to attract cruise calls, crafting distinctive tourism experiences, enhancing the city's readiness to receive passengers, and fostering a cruise industry ecosystem.
The city will also work with the Incheon Tourism Organization to beef up visitor information services for cruise passengers and provide hands-on support. Free shuttle buses are planned to connect key spots—like the cruise terminal, Sangsang Platform, and Songdo—making it easy for visitors to explore.
Officials noted a rise in overnight calls—ships staying one night or more at their home ports—which presents an opportunity to develop stay-focused tourism offerings that turn visitor traffic into local spending.
At the same time, Incheon plans to cultivate region-specific tourism products and related industries so the cruise sector becomes a sustainable new growth engine for the local economy.
“We’ll turn the surge in cruise demand into an opportunity to leap forward as a Northeast Asian cruise hub,” said Shin Jae-kyung, Incheon’s deputy mayor for global city affairs. “We want cruise visitors to leave feeling that Incheon is a city they’ll want to come back to.”
