SWOT Amalysis on the Development of Cruise Tourism in Qingdao

【Abstract】As the cruise tourism develops prosperously in Qingdao，large numbers of problems exist.This paper researches the current situations of the cruise tourism in Qingdao and uses SWOT analysis to analyze the strengths， weaknesses， opportunities and threats for the development of cruise tourism in Qingdao.

【Key words】Cruise tourism； Qingdao；SWOT

0 Introduction

Cruise ship tourism takes large luxury cruise ship as a carrier， takes the sea parade as the main form， and takes the leisure tourism activities on board and ashore as the main content of the high-end tourism activities. Many people choose cruise ship as their first choice for travel. However， there are still some problems and challenges existing in the development of cruise ship tourism in Qingdao. For example， the infrastructure is not perfect， the urban scale is small， the awareness is not high， the cruise industry service system is not perfect， professional talent is scarce， etc. However， some measures can be taken to solve these problems and challenges. Long-run development of the cruise ship tourism needs a proper and effective planning. So these problems need to be analyzed.

1 SWOT Analysis for the Development of Cruise Tourism in Qingdao

1.1 Strengths analysis

1.1.1 Natural advantage

Qingdao is located in the southern part of the Shandong Peninsula， the eastern and southern parts are on the verge to the Yellow Sea； the mainland coastline is 730.64 kilometers， plus the island's coastline which belongs to Qingdao， the city's coastline has a total length of 862.64kilometers.The number of existing islands is 69， with a total area of 21.1 square kilometers and 132 kilometers of coastline. It has long deep-water coastline and many wharfs； water depth and fairways are in good conditions； near downtown and has more room for development； tourism resources surrounding is rich， and has many cultural attractions； convenient water， land and air traffic conditions； good cultural atmosphere of the modern city， which fully shows Qingdao has the natural conditions with the development of the cruise to some extent. In addition， Qingdao belongs to the temperate monsoon climate which has the characteristics of maritime climate， winter without freezing， summer without heat， with four distinct seasons. Qingdao's ports do not silt all the year round， and its unique climatic conditions have also become a major advantage to set up a cruise terminal in Qingdao.

1.1.2 Economic advantage

The three major economies are the foundation conditions for the development of cruise economy. In 2005， Qingdao's per capita income was 14210 RMB， per capita GDP was more than $3000， which has reached the level of medium developed countries. By 2008， it forecasts that per capita GDP will increase to $6000.

1.1.3 Market demand

With the improvement of people's living standards， traditional sightseeing tourism cannot meet the needs of tourists. The modern cruise as “mobile Resort”， its particularity of the travel experience， the high participation of tourism activities and the safety and comfort of tourism trip are aligned with people's pursuit of full relaxation， enjoyment and entertainment， leisure and tourism . On the other hand， the increase of the major cruise and a variety of tourist facilities and services projects， make the cruise's scale bigger and bigger， the scale effect will promote the cruise price drops greatly， and the route arrangement is flexible. More and more of those tourists who do not experience cruise tourism join the cruise line， and become the cruise consumers. For old customers， more than 95% of the cruise tourists said they are very satisfied with their experience， the average per person will do 1 ～ 2.4 times of the cruise travel in the next two years. Cruise tourism’s wonderful and special experience to some extent； improve the cruise tourism public praise effect， so as to promote the extension of the cruise market and the development of cruise economy.

1.2 Weaknesses analysis

Poor hardware facilities is the weakness of cruise tourism of Qingdao.At present， Qingdao is an international luxury cruise ship port of call. But as a cruise port， Qingdao's hardware facilities are obviously inadequate. To build the home port not only means a home port construction， also means to have corresponding supporting facilities. In this respect， Shanghai has obvious advantages compared with the Qingdao. Shanghai international passenger transportation center has been built， with a total investment of $260 million， the center's marina has 880 meters' golden coastline， the land area is 130，000 square meters. The marina can provide 24 hours' service of pilotage， tugboats， and joint inspection， the annual passenger throughput of up to 1 million people； become one of the biggest cruise ship dock bases in Asia. There is still a long way on cruise's construction of hardware facilities for Qingdao to go.

1.3 Opportunities analysis

The opportunity of international cruise market is the opportunity of cruise tourism of Qingdao.Europe and the United States is the world's largest cruise tourism development market. But the cruise market in Europe and the United States has become saturated. In order to maintain its development potential， the cruise company and is constantly opening up its new market space. Developing the cruise tourism in Qingdao， on the one hand， can fill the blank of China's cruise market； On the other hand can also push forward the world cruise industry actively， and meet the needs of the cruise market in Europe and America. The 2008 Olympic Sailing Competition provides investment opportunities for foreign cruise companies in Qingdao， and also provides the financing channels for the construction of Qingdao pier.

1.4 Threats analysis

The threat of famous foreign cruise port and tourist city is the threat of cruise tourism of Qingdao.Foreign famous cruise destinations such as Singapore， Incheon， Japan， and the Caribbean， Mediterranean and so on， not only have the rich cruise experiences， complete facilities， and the organization is perfect。It has a large number of professional management personnel and high-quality employees， which Qingdao can not catch up with in a short period.

2 Conclusions

In conclusion， cruise tourism is a new form of tourism product in Qingdao. Although restricted by hardware and software factors and the threat of famous foreign cruise port and tourist city， Qingdao has the natural advantages and basic conditions of developing cruise tourism， and the great potential of cruise economic development.

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