'Superstar Virgo' homeports in Hong Kong

One of the world's largest cruise operators, Star Cruises, has made Hong Kong home for its Asia flagship.

As the flagship superliner docked at Ocean Terminal in Hong Kong, its owners said that their choice of the city as homeport offers the ideal platform to capitalize on the region's burgeoning industry. Leading the charge will be the 286-metre, 1,960-passenger 'Superstar Virgo'. "We believe that Asia's demographics, emerging new ports and cruise terminals in cities like Xiamen, Sanya and Shanghai in addition to the Hong Kong government's tender process for the Kai Tak cruise terminal, plus the Singapore marine south cruise terminal project will contribute to the dynamic growth in the Asian cruise business," Star Cruises Group president David Chua Ming-huap said. Mr. Chua also said that although many cities had the necessary hardware, other ports lacked Hong Kong's unique software in terms of service and local attractions. He said the deployment of the 'Superstar Virgo' to Hong Kong also aimed at capturing a larger segment of the Chinese tourism market, adding that the company's positioning of satellite offices in the mainland and understanding of the Asian market gave them an edge.

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