SuperStar Leo, the Hong Kong flagship of Star Cruises, heads a fleet of nine liners in the Asia-Pacific

The company plans to buy four new ships for about HK$7.8 billion (US$1 billion), with two vessels serving the growing Chinese market and the other two added to the group's Norwegian Cruise Line to cater for the North American market.

Star Cruises' chief operating officer Chong Chee Tut highlighted the role of Hong Kong, the company's headquarters, in the business expansion. "Hong Kong as an air and sea hub is an important market for us. This is easily evidenced by the fact that we have three ships based in Hong Kong - SuperStar Leo, Star Pisces and Wasa Queen."

Hong Kong is an international city with excellent air/sea connectivity and lots of tourism appeal, Mr Chong added. "In our expansion we have taken into consideration the economy, market demand and maturity, infrastructure and other tourism and business-related factors. We believe that the two-pronged expansion in North America and the mainland market will place the company in a competitive position in the short and mid-term."

With an increasing number of mainland Chinese people travelling overseas, Star Cruises is marketing its ships in the mainland. Under the existing itinerary, Star Cruises operates from Hong Kong a four-day, three-night cruise to Sanya on Hainan Island and Halong Bay in Vietnam. Recently, Star Cruises provided a one-off cruise to Shanghai, and another special cruise to China's biggest city is planned for next year.  

Star Cruises reported a net profit of HK$179 million (US$23 million) for the first half of the year, an increase of 14 per cent when compared to the same period in 2001. North America accounted for 63 per cent and Asia-Pacific made up 30.6 per cent of the total share.

The group presently operates 19 ships with cruises to destinations in the Asia-Pacific, North and South America, the Caribbean, Hawaii and the Mediterranean to name a few places. There are currently nine cruise vessels in the Asia-Pacific region.

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Star Cruises Limited www.starcruises.com/