Developing the cruise industry - which has changed from the days of transoceanic transportation and tropical vacations only available to society's elite - has become an important strategy for seaside cities like Shanghai, Tianjin and Sanya to boost tourism.
The National Tourism Administration in September approved Shanghai as the first experimental zone for the development of China's cruise industry.
The number of passengers at Shanghai's cruise terminals has surged this year, thanks to the city's policy support and public interest in a vacation option now affordable for ordinary people.
In March alone, the number of passengers at Shanghai's Wusong and Beiwaitan ports rose 60 percent year-on-year to about 90,000.
On Tuesday, industry insiders said the visa-free program will cement its burgeoning reputation as a global tourist hotspot and help it compete in attracting overseas visitors.
"We have been calling for the policy since the beginning of this year," said Zhang Fubao, general manager of Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal.
He said there are tens of thousands of overseas tourists on cruises passing Shanghai to a third country, but once the policy is approved, the number of tourists will be much larger.
Gu Xiaoming, professor of the tourism department at Shanghai's Fudan University, said the policy can put Shanghai in a better position to compete with Tianjin and Hainan province as a cruise homeport.
Jiang Wenjun, in charge of receiving inbound tourists from Europe and North America at China International Travel Service in Shanghai, said about 10 percent of inbound tourists at his company travel to China by cruise every year.
That proportion has remained stagnant for years, and part of the reason lies in the lack of confidence in the travel market in China, he said.
Danae Wheeler, a student from New Zealand, said on Tuesday that more travelers will be interested in selecting Shanghai as a destination if such a policy can be put in place.
"Shanghai already is one of the world's most fascinating cities to be in," Wheeler said.
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