The cruise industry is expected to see growth when the newly added cruise connecting Jeju and Shanghai starts next month.

The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced on April 27 that there will be a new cruise that connects Jeju and Shanghai, which will run twice a week, staring from the middle of next month.

Omar Cruise, which will ferry between Jeju and Shanghai, is a nine-story ship, 171-meters-long and 18,000 tons. This ship will carry about 60,000 Chinese visitors every year to Jeju Island.

Prior to the operation of this cruise, Jeju decided to support tour programs and use harbor space of cruise ships through the negotiation with a Chinese cruise company that visited Jeju recently.

The island's cruise tour industry is expected to be revitalized, since Jeju for the first time will serve as a cruise base port, rather than just a stopover.

If regular operation of the Jeju-Shanghai cruise works out as planned, the number of cruise tourists this year will increase to 100,000 as the cruise will come to Jeju 120 times a year.

Moreover, the cruise industry would be developed even further when exclusive harbor space for international cruise are completed by this August. For more information, contact Jeju Department of Marine Development, 064-710-3226.

(Translated by Koh Yu Kyung)