Taiwan’s second largest city, Kaohsiung, is hoping to receive more cruise ships and passengers in future, as a means of boosting its tourism industry.

Taiwan News reported a senior city tourism official, Tseng Tzu-wen, as saying that Kaohsiung is expecting to see a rebound in the number of cruise ship visits it receives in 2017, following a sharp drop last year.

In 2015, 46 cruise ships docked in the southern city, but this declined in 2016. This year however, the city’s cruise sector is expected to rebound, with a total of 44 cruise ships scheduled to dock in Kaohsiung Port. According to Tseng, these ships are expected to bring in an estimated 120,000 passengers.

The city estimates that each cruise ship can bring in TW$2 million (US$65,600) in passenger revenue, so the 44 visits scheduled in 2016 could earn the city almost US$3m.

Taiwan News also cited Tseng as saying that the cruise sector forms part of Taiwan’s strategy to attract more tourists from other Asian countries, to offset a decline in arrivals from mainland China.

In an effort to make Kaohsiung more attractive to cruise passengers, port facilities have been upgraded and the city’s tourism bureau will conduct activities to welcome passengers, including gifts and tour options.